The  Ways  of 
Si".  AiilKany 


SISTER  M.  JOSEPHINE 


The  Ways  of 
St.  Anthony 

BY 

SISTER  M.  JOSEPHINE 

URSULIM-  OF  BROU  N  COUNTY 


Published  by 
ST.  ANTHONY  MESSENGER 
2526  Scioto  Street 
Cincinnati,  Ohio. 


Nihil  obstat: 

Fr.  Fulgentius  Meyer,  O.  F.  M., 

Censor  dep. 

Nov.  19,  1921. 


Imprimatur : 

tHENRlCUS  MOELLER, 

Archiep.  Cincinnatensis. 

Cincinnati,  die  22a  Nov.  1921. 


Imprimatur : 

Fr.  Edmundus  Klein,  O.  F.  M., 

Min.  Prov. 

Cincinnati,  die  22a  Nov.  1921. 


Copyright,  1922 
St.  Anthony  Messenger 
Cincinnati,  Ohio 


TO  MAC 


INDEX 

PAGE 

1.  St.  Anthony  and  the  Crucifix   7 

2.  St.  Anthony  and  the  Diamond   13 

3.  St.  Anthony  as  a  Lawyer   17 

4.  St.  Anthony  and  the  Ford   23 

5.  St.  Anthony  as  a  Salesman   20 

6.  A  Twice  Told  Tale  of  St.  Anthony.  ...  3-1 

7.  St.  Anthony  as  a  Detective   41 

8.  St.  Anthony's  "Little  Things''   49 

9.  St.  Anthony  and  the  Money  in  the  Roof  57 

10.  St.  Anthony  at  Every  Turn   HO 

IL  St.  Anthony  as  a  Specialist   73 

12.  St.  Anthony. — a  Life  Saver   79 

13.  St.  Anthony  and  Our  Community   84 


SI  JLint  of  JnCotmation 


J^HE  zvnter  of  THE  WAYS  OF  ST, 
ANTHONY  is  very  much  interested 
in  the  education  of  poor  young  men  for  the 
priesthood  in  the  Order  of  St.  Francis  of 
which  St.  Anthony  was  such  an  illustrious 
member. 

In  order  to  ''do  her  share''  towards  this 
end  she  promised  to  write  thirteen  stories 
about  the  dear  Franciscan  Saint  for  ''St. 
Anthony  Messenger'  if  the  Editor  would 
supply  the  facts.  Fie  did  and  she  kept  her 
promise. 

The  names  and  places  in  these  stories 
are  fiction;  the  incidents,  however,  are 
real.  They  were  sent  to  the  Editor  hy 
clients  of  the  Saint  in  their  accounts  of 
thanksgivings  for  favors  received  through 
St.  Anthony's  intercession  and  for  which 
most  of  them  had  promised  publication. 
The  writer  has  simply  woven  these  ac- 
counts into  readable  stories. 


THE  EDITOR. 


1. 


&t  antSong  and  t^t  Crucifix 

^HE  Five  O'Clock  Bell  rang  through 


the  quiet  corridors  and  aroused  the 
sleeping  inmates  of  the  cloister.  Poor 
Sister  Joachim!  Poor  Sister  Salome! 
They  should  have  been  up  long  ago,  for 
the  train  would  steam  away  from  the  sta- 
tion, six  miles  distant,  in  an  hour,  and 
such  a  rush  as  it  would  mean  for  them 
to  make  it!  However,  there  was  nothing 
for  it  but  to  rush,  for  at  eight  o'clock  the 
children  would  begin  to  arrive  and  Mon- 
day morning  was  a  bad  time  to  be  away 
from  the  post  of  duty.  A  hasty  toilet;  a 
hurried  breakfast;  and  then  the  restful 
drive  through  the  exquisite  May  morning 
when  God's  love  spoke  through  the  waken- 
ing world  and  infused  a  new  vigor  deep 
into  the  soul  with  every  breath  of  the  fresh 
spring  air;  an  hour's  ride  in  the  dingy 
train;  and  then  the  thousand  and  one 
things  that  must  be  done  at  the  last  minute 
before  school.  No  wonder  Sister  Salome 
did  not  miss  the  crucifix  she  wore  in  her 
cincture  as  open  sign  of  her  sacred  pro- 


8 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 


fession,  the  only  article  of  real  value  she 
possessed,  her  chief  est  treasure.  Boys  and 
girls  were  in  her  thoughts ;  and  Catechism 
and  Theorems  and  Compositions  and  His- 
tory Facts  excluded  anything  personal  for 
hours. 

But  at  last  she  missed  it.  The  chiming 
of  the  far-away  clock  struck  her  ears  and 
mechanically  she  felt  for  the  sacred  em- 
blem to  kiss  it,  only  to  realize  with  a  start 
that  it  was  gone.  Where  was  it.^  What 
had  she  done  with  it.^  When  had  she  had 
it?  One  question  after  another  passed 
through  her  mind,  but  none  could  she 
answer;  and  anyway  the  worrisome  busi- 
ness must  be  set  aside  until  after  school. 
Then  she  could  telephone  home,  for  of 
course,  in  her  haste  she  had  left  it  in  her 
cell.  But  she  hadn't.  No  trace  of  the 
precious  crucifix  could  be  found,  nor  could 
an  appeal  to  the  Street  Car  Company,  nor 
even  to  the  Railroad  Superintendent  re- 
store the  lost  treasure.  The  latter,  it  is 
true,  promised  to  write  on  East  for  possi- 
ble information  at  the  Claim  Office,  but 
the  outcome  looked  rather  indefinite. 
Until  now  Sister  Salome  had  worked  as  if 
she  were  to  do  it  all,  now  it  was  time  to 
pray  as  if  God  were  to  do  it  all ;  so  much 


St.  Anthony  and  the  Crucifix.  9 


for  St.  Ignatius.  Of  course,  St.  Anthony 
would  find  it ;  he  always  did  find  things ; 
and  the  more  forlorn  the  case  the  more 
sure  the  result.  She  knew  that.  So  the 
Responsory  to  St.  Anthony  was  added  to 
the  daily  Mass  prayers,  for  she  would 
make  a  novena  to  the  Wonder  Worker. 

It  w^as  a  very  hopeful  Sister  Salome  who 
was  called  to  the  telephone  on  the  sixth 
day,  only  to  meet  with  a  most  keen  disap- 
pointment. The  answer  had  come  from  the 
Claim  Office  and  the  crucifix  was  not 
there.  The  Superintendent  was  most  kind, 
he  seemed  to  have  an  intuition  of  the  loss ; 
but  his  report  ended  the  matter,  it  was 
useless  to  inquire  further.  Thursday 
morning  Sister  Salome  went  to  Mass  with 
— well,  at  least  a  discouraged  heart.  "Dear 
St.  Anthony,"  she  prayed,  "there's  nothing 
left  now  but  a  miracle  and  I  ask  you  for 
that,"  and  she  said  the  Responsory  as 
usual. 

When  that  evening  Father  Lawrence, 
the  young  chaplain  of  the  Convent,  called 
her  up  to  tell  her  he  had  good  news  for  her, 
she  thought  it  was  only  the  decision  about 
a  sermon  they  had  had  difficulty  in  ar- 
ranging, and  was  quite  satisfied  with  his 


10 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


assuring  her  he  would  tell  her  the  next  day. 
She  never  dreamed  it  was  St.  Anthony's 
Miracle ! 

Friday  morning  the  young  priest  was 
beaming  when  she  walked  into  the  parlor. 
He  held  a  parcel  towards  her,  "Is  this 
yours  she  saw  the  shape,  took  it  in  her 
hand,  and  sat  down.  It  was  her  crucifix ! 
Where  had  Father  Lawrence  got  it.^  Of 
course,  his  prayers  had  been  enlisted,  for 
wasn't  St.  Anthony  his  very  own  elder 
brother.^  But  how  had  he  come  by  it? 
And  then  Father  Lawrence  laughed,  "Do 
you  want  me  to  tell  you?"  he  asked. 

He  had  gone  on  Wednesday  to  one  of 
the  suburban  towns  to  spend  the  after- 
noon at  his  home.  During  the  course  of 
his  visit  his  mother  told  him  of  the  lovely 
ride  she  had  had  on  Sunday  afternoon. 
It  seemed  that  one  of  her  near  neighbors, 
Mr.  Weston,  had  a  matter  of  business  to 
attend  to,  and  as  the  weather  was  delight- 
ful he  made  of  it  a  pleasure  trip  and  took 
some  of  his  friends.  Much  to  her  surprise 
they  visited  convents.  Mr.  Weston  was 
trying  to  place  a  crucifix  and  went  first 
to  one  religious  order  and  then  to  another, 
seeking  the  owner.    It  was  a  lovely  after- 


St.  Antlio)i\  and  the  Crucifix,  11 


noon  and  the  more  places  they  went,  the 
longer  the  ride  would  last,  so  that  just 
suited  everyone.  But  after  visiting  five 
different  houses  in  vain,  Mr.  Weston  drew 
a  sigh  of  relief  and  in  very  satisfied  tones 
announced  that  he  intended  to  keep  the 
crucifix  himself,  that  he  had  wanted  it 
from  the  moment  he  saw  it,  and  only  the 
thought  of  the  owner's  regret  had  driven 
him  to  the  trouble  he  had  taken.  All  the 
party  agreed  that  the  crucifix  was  right- 
fully his  and  they  all  thought  it  a  \'ery 
pleasant  ending  of  a  very  pleasant  ride. 

Father  Lawrence  listened  with  interest 
to  this  recital,  and  then  asked  where  Mr. 
Weston  had  got  that  crucifix. 

"Oh,"  said  his  mother,  "some  man 
found  it  on  the  B.&O. train  Monday  morn- 
ing of  last  week,  and  realizing  it  was 
precious,  and  knowing  that  Air.  Weston 
was  Mayor  of  the  town,  thought  him  the 
proper  custodian  for  it,  until  the  owner 
could  be  located.  But  now  Air.  Weston 
can  keep  it,"  she  finished. 

"Indeed  he  can't,"  said  Father  Law- 
rence. "Please  send  straight  over  to  the 
Alayor's  house  and  bring  that  crucifix  here. 
I  know  the  owner  and  I  want  to  erive  it  to 
her." 


12  The  Ways  of  St,  Anthony. 


Sister  Salome  caught  her  breath.  "It 
was  a  miracle  wasn't  it?  St.  Anthony's 
miracle!" 

But  Father  Lawrence  only  laughed 
again.  "Write  it  for  St.  Anthony  Mes- 
senger," he  said.   And  she  did. 


II. 


&t  SLntfionii  anb  tje  SDiamonli 

IWTRS.  MARSTON  suddenly  took  her 
-^^^  hands  off  the  piano.  She  and  Sister 
Joachim  were  playing  duos  in  the  Library 
while  her  husband  performed  his  pro- 
fessional duties  for  the  nuns,  and  she 
had  been  so  intent  on  the  music  that  she 
had  actually  forgot  for  a  w^hile.  She 
wouldn't  have  believed  she  could  forget, 
but  in  her  interest  her  loss  has  slipped 
from  her  mind  until  suddenly  she  caught 
sight  of  her  wedding  ring  and  that  re- 
minded her. 

"Oh,  Sister  Joachim!"  she  exclaimed, 
"do  you  know  St.  Anthony.^"  and  the  un- 
accustomed title  fell  hesitatingly  from  her 
lips. 

Sister  Joachim  was  amused.  Of  course 
she  knew  St.  Anthony.  Every  Catholic 
did.  Acquaintance  with  him  was  a  sort 
of  open  sesame  to  the  broad  circle  of 
hagiology;  and  besides  who  would  ever 
find  all  the  things  that  were  lost  if  it  were 
not  for  St.  Anthony.^ 

"Why,  yes,"  she  said,  "I  know  St.  An- 


14 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 


thony — that  is,  I  love  him  and  ask  his  help 
and  he  is  good  enough  to  find  most  of  the 
things  I  mislay.   But  why  do  you  ask?" 

"Well/'  sighed  Mrs.  Marston,  "I  lost 
the  diamond  out  of  my  ring,  the  one  the 
Doctor  gave  me  for  our  engagement,  and 
I  have  searched  the  town  for  it  and  I  can't 
find  it.  The  people  over  at  the  Inn  said  I 
ought  to  ask  St.  Anthony  for  it.  They 
said  you  would  tell  me  about  him." 

Sister  Joachim  was  interested.  She  felt 
bad  at  her  guest's  loss ;  and  besides  she 
saw  her  chance  to  introduce  a  new  and 
undreamed-of  client  to  St.  Anthony. 

"Why,  how  did  it  happen.^"  she  in- 
quired, sympathetically. 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Mrs.  Marston,  "I 
had  the  ring  on  after  supper  and  then  later 
when  we  came  back  from  the  ice  cream 
parlor  the  diamond  was  gone.  That  was 
the  only  place  I  have  been,  that  and  our 
own  yard.  Of  course  we  looked  for  it, 
everywhere — on  the  street,  in  the  ice  cream 
place,  and  in  our  yard.  Oh,  I  assure  you 
I  haven't  missed  an  inch.  You  know  we 
are  just  getting  ready  to  move,  and  I  have 
to  find  it  before  I  go !" 

"Yes,"  said  Sister  Joachim,  "so  we'll 
ask  St.  Anthony  to  help  us."    And  then 


St.  Anthony  and  tJie  Diamond.  15 


she  told  all  about  the  dear  Franciscan 
Saint,  whose  one  idea  of  happiness  in 
heaven  seems  to  be  to  help  the  needy  on 
earth. 

Mrs.  Marston  listened  intently.  She 
had  never  given  much  thought  to  saints 
and  their  ways,  but  now  she  grasped  at 
the  idea  of  supernatural  help.  *^'0h,  do 
ask  him/'  she  said,  ''I  will  be  so  glad  if 
you  do,  for  I  certainly  feel  bad  about 
losing  my  precious  diamond." 

"Yes,"  went  on  Sister  Joachim,  "we 
will  ask  him,  and  then  dear  Mrs.  Marston, 
when  he  has  found  it  for  you,  you  must 
give  an  alms  in  his  honor,  a  dollar  to  some 
poor  person  or  something  like  that,  you 
know.   Will  you  promise  to  give  it.^" 

"Indeed,  indeed,  I  will,"  said  Mrs. 
Marston,  and  in  her  mind's  eye  she  al- 
ready saw  the  shining  stone  safe  back  on 
her  finger  again.  For  while  she  had  no 
personal  experience  of  the  assistance  of 
the  saints,  somehow  Sister  Joachim  was 
very  confident,  and  that  was  most  reas- 
suring. 

That  evening  at  recreation  on  the  lawn 
Sister  Joachim  told  the  stor>^  of  Mrs. 
Marston's  loss  and  asked  for  prayers  for 
the  recovery  of  the  stone.    It  really  meant 


16  Tlie  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 

very  much  to  her,  for  she  somehow  felt 
responsible  for  its  return.  Of  course,  the 
prayers  were  promised,  and  day  by  day  the 
Responsory  was  said,  though  by  none 
quite  so  vehemently  as  by  herself. 

A  few  days  later  vacation  was  over  and 
off  went  the  Sisters  to  the  city  where 
broomsticks  and  books  and  dusters  and 
schedules  filled  in  the  day  until  the  classes 
should  begin.  Only  the  nightly  Respon- 
sory went  on,  for  Sister  Joachim's  faith 
never  faltered. 

And  one  day  she  received  a  letter  in  a 
strange  hand-writing.  "Dear  Sister 
Joachim,"  Mrs.  Marston  wrote,  "I  have 
found  my  diamond,  and  in  such  a  remark- 
able way,  too.  I  had  almost  given  up  hope 
w^hen  the  inspiration  came  to  me  to  rake 
the  yard,  though  I  never  heard  of  any  one 
raking  a  yard  for  a  little  stone  like  that 
before.  It  sounds  absurd,  I  know,  but  the 
A  ery  first  pull  1  gave  with  the  rake  through 
the  grass,  up  came  my  diamond.  I  think 
that  was  miraculous." 

And  Sister  Joachim  happily  thought  so 
too,  and  the  Responsory  to  the  Blessed  St. 
Anthony  went  right  on,  but  this  time  it 
was  in  thanksgiving. 


III. 


"T7[7ELL/'  said  Sister  Salome  as  she 
passed  Sister  Joachim  in  the  hall, 
^'our  convent  is  not  the  only  one  that  can 
tell  tales  of  St.  Anthony.  Read  this."  And 
she  handed  her  a  letter  she  had  just  re- 
ceived from  the  postman.  Sister  Joachim 
slipped  the  large  envelope  into  her  capa- 
cious pocket  and  went  on  about  her  work ; 
but  that  afternoon  she  returned  it  with  a 
smile  of  assurance  that  such  a  story  could 
only  add  a  new  laurel  to  St.  Anthony's 
crown.  "Write  it  out/'  she  said,  "it  will 
do  good." 

Sister  Salome  pondered  long  and  in- 
tently over  the  letter.  It  was  from  the 
Superior  of  a  Franciscan  Convent  and  told 
of  a  most  remarkable  event,  in  which  St. 
Anthony  was,  of  course,  the  hero.  The 
facts  were  all  true;  and  Sister  Salome 
agreed  with  the  Reverend  Mother  that 
everyone  ought  to  know  them,  so  finally 
she  wrote. 

Mrs.  Osbourne  was  having  a  great  trial. 
Of  course,  it  was  not  her  first  trial,  fo^  ^he 


18 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 


had  been  serving  the  Heavenly  King  too 
many  years  not  to  have  felt  His  loving 
chastisements  many  times ;  but  this  was 
the  most  serious  that  had  yet  befallen  her. 
Her  brother-in-law  was  suing  her,  and 
what  made  it  worse  she  had  no  proof  at 
all  that  she  did  not  owe  him  the  money 
he  claimed. 

Perhaps  na  mere  man  could  ever  under- 
stand the  helplessness  a  woman  feels  at 
the  sound  of  that  direful  word,  the  law. 
It  stands  for  all  that  is  blackest  in  human 
relation;  and  so,  unjust  though  she  knew 
the  case  to  be,  poor  Mrs.  Osbourne  lay 
awake  night  after  night  tortured  by  the 
fears  aroused  in  her  by  sheriff's  summons 
and  lawyer's  briefs,  and  judge's  verdict. 
But  all  the  time  she  prayed  for  she  had  a 
staunch  friend  in  heaven  who  before  this 
had  won  many  a  hopeless  case.  That 
friend  was  St.  Anthony. 

Through  the  long  night  hours  Mrs.  Os- 
bourne's  wakeful  mind  went  over  and  over 
the  facts.  She  recalled  how  just  before 
her  husband's  death — and  what  a  good 
honest  man  her  husband  had  been! — he 
had  asked  her  to  give  a  hundred  dollars 
to  the  very  brother  who  was  now  causing 
her  such  sorrow.    How  gladly  she  had 


St,  Anthony  as  a  Lawyer,  19 

given  it,  without  any  hesitation,  any  de- 
lay! So  her  mind  went  on  recalling  every 
detail  of  the  last  sad  days  of  her  husband's 
life  and  again  she  felt  the  blank  that  death 
always  leaves  in  its  wake. 

Then  came  the  startling  announcement 
of  this  debt,  her  husband's  personal  note 
for  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  It 
was  a  sum  she  could  hardly  afford  to  pay 
— and  again  Mrs.  Osbourne  would  fall  to 
praying.  Finally  in  her  distress  she  had 
recourse  to  her  good  friends  at  the  Fran- 
ciscan Convent  and  the  Reverend  Mother 
gave  her  a  medal  of  St.  Anthony  and  as- 
sured her  of  the  constant  intercession  of 
the  Sisters. 

Instead  of  the  case  coming  up  for  trial 
on  the  day  for  which  it  was  set,  the  hearing 
was  postponed  several  times,  and  each 
time  the  suspense  became  harder  to  bear 
and  each  time  a  little  more  of  Mrs.  Os- 
bourne's  courage  oozed  away.  Finally  her 
doom  was  sealed.  The  case  of  Osbourne 
vs.  Osbourne  was  set  for  a  certain  Mon- 
day; and  it  was  a  trembling  Mrs.  Os- 
bourne who  took  her  place  in  the  court- 
room, trying  to  smile  courageously  on 
young  Mr.  Lawton,  her  anxious  lawyer, 


20  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 

and  clasping  at  the  same  time  the  precious 
medal  in  her  shaking  hand. 

With  all  the  skill  he  could  master,  Mr. 
Lawton  could  not  find  one  shred  of  testi- 
mony to  offset  the  plaintiff's  statement. 
Mr.  Osbourne  said,  his  brother  had  given 
him  the  note  at  a  time  when  he  needed 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  and  that  his 
witness,  Mr.  Venable,  had  been  present 
at  the  transfer  of  the  money  at  the  Phoenix 
Hotel  on  the  preceding  September  15th. 
Unfortunately,  Mrs.  Osbourne  had  . been 
absent  from  home  that  day  and  there  was 
absolutely  no  proof  that  her  husband  had 
not  gone  to  the  hotel  to  meet  the  two  men. 

Then  the  court  ordered  the  note  to  be 
produced.  Once  again  Mrs.  Osbourne 
saw  the  small  piece  of  typewritten  paper 
that  had  caused  her  such  weeks  of  agony. 
There  it  all  was,  a  promise  to  pay  the  said 
sum  signed  by  her  own  husband  in  a  cool 
steady  hand.  The  signature  was  his,  there 
was  no  doubt  of  it.  Only  John  Osbourne 
could  have  written  it ;  but  every  one  knew 
that  on  September  ISth  John  Osbourne 
was  in  no  condition  to  go  to  a  hotel,  nor 
could  he  possibly  have  signed  his  name 
with  such  a  steady  stroke.  Evidently 
there  w^as  some  trick  in  the  matter ;  but  the 


St.  Anthony  as  a  Lxizvyer,  21 

lawyer  was  at  his  wit's  end  to  find  it  and 
Mrs.  Osbourne  prayed  harder  than  ever. 
At  last,  just  before  the  case  was  given  to 
the  jury,  as  if  by  an  inspiration,  Mr.  Law- 
ton  asked  to  have  the  note  photographed 
and  the  case  was  adjourned  for  that  day. 

When  Mrs.  Osbourne  woke  the  next 
morning,  St.  Anthony's  own  Tuesday,  she 
felt  almost  hopeless.  Would  the  photo- 
graph prove  of  any  value  But  she  felt 
it  was  the  very  last  straw  and  she  clung 
to  it  with  all  her  soul. 

After  the  usual  formalities  of  court 
routine  had  been  complied  with,  Mr.  Law- 
ton  produced  a  paper  from  an  envelope 
which  he  took  from  his  pocket,  and  handed 
it  gravely  to  the  judge.  It  was  the  photo- 
graph of  the  note.  The  silence  was  intense. 
Mrs.  Osbourne  leaned  forward  in  her 
chair  and  clasped  her  medal  more  closely. 
"Now,  St.  Anthony,"  she  prayed,  "now, 
Oh!  help  us!"  Then  there  was  a  stir! 
The  photograph  revealed  upon  examina- 
tion another  note  beneath  the  typed  one ! 

What  happened  during  the  next  few 
minutes  will  always  be  more  or  less  of  a 
blank  to  Mrs.  Osbourne.  Only  by  degrees 
did  the  truth  filter  into  her  overwrought 
brain.   That  the  original  writing  had  been 


22 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


simply  a  letter  of  introduction  given  by 
her  husband  to  his  brother  and  erased  by 
the  latter,  with  the  exception  of  the  signa- 
ture and  then  filled  out  with  the  promis- 
sory note,  was  later  made  clear  to  her. 
Just  then  she  was  overwhelmed  with  the 
stunning  fact  that  St.  Anthony  had  saved 
her, —  dear  St.  Anthony  —  whose  power 
was  not  shortened. 

"Isn't  it  all  wonderful.?"  said  Sister  Sa- 
lome later,  when  she  was  discussing  the 
story  with  Sister  Joachim. 

"Why,  of  course  not,"  replied  the  latter 
promptly.  "The  trouble  is,  we  never  re- 
member that  St.  Anthony  is  the  blessed 
Wonder- Worker,  and  then  when  he  does 
just  what  we  ought  to  expect  a  wonder- 
worker to  do,  we  are  very  much  surprised. 
All  he  wants  is  to  be  asked  and  surely  Mrs. 
Osbourne  did  ask  him;  and  besides  the 
Sisters  promised  to  publish  the  favor  if 
he  granted  it,  and  how  many  people,  who 
never  thought  of  it  before,  will  know  now 
that  St.  Anthony  is  a  fine  lawyer." 

Sister  Joachim  laughed.  "Perhaps  that 
is  why  1  wrote  it,"  she  said. 


IV. 


"T^O  you  think  St.  Anthony  could  find 
^  an  oil  well  on  your  uncle's  Texas 
land?"  asked  Sister  Salome  of  Sister 
Joachim  as  they  were  doing  their  Friday 
afternoon  cleaning  together.  "Or  is  it 
only  lost  things  he  returns  .f^" 

Sister  Joachim  stopped  short  in  amaze- 
ment. "Well,  whatever  put  such  an  idea 
as  that  into  your  head?"  she  exclaimed. 

"Why/'  said  Sister  Salome,  "he  has  been 
finding  an  automobile,  a  lost  one,  I  mean, 
and  I  wish  he  would  find  an  oil  well  and 
then  we  could  build  our  chapel." 

"Tell  me  about  the  automobile,"  said 
Sister  Joachim,  as  she  carefully  shook  out 
the  dust  cloth  and  settled  herself  to  listen. 

Sister  Salome,  who  never  lost  a  chance 
to  exploit  the  wonders  of  St.  Anthony,  at 
once  began : 

"I  read  a  letter  from  the  priest  to  whom 
it  happened  and  it  is  all  true.  He  is  the 
pastor  in  a  small  Kentucky  town  and  he 
was  very  proud,  rightly  proud,  of  the 
twenty-one  young  men  of  his  parish  sent 


24:  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 

to  keep  Old  Glory  waving  over  this  free 
land  of  ours.  So  when  the  Fourth  of  July 
came  round  and  the  patriotic  citizens  of 
Wayneville,  a  near-by  town,  united  to 
serve  a  barbecue  for  the  soldiers,  of  course 
Father  Newman  went — " 

"Was  that  his  real  name?"  broke  in 
Sister  Joachim. 

"Why,  no,"  answered  her  companion. 
"I  can't  use  any  real  names,  and  anyway, 
real  names  are  seldom  put  in  stories.  Well, 
Father  Newman  went  with  Mr.  Hill,  a 
friend  of  his,  who  was  the  proud  owner 
of  an  almost  new  Ford.  The  entertain- 
ment proved  to  be  very  pleasant.  Every- 
one was  in  high  good  humor  and  hospi- 
tality was  lavished  upon  all  comers.  Even 
after  several  hours  had  passed  the  men 
were  loath  to  leave;  but  business  was 
pressing,  so  about  two  o'clock  they  said 
good-bye  to  their  hosts  and  started  for 
their  machine.  Imagine  their  amazement 
to  find  it  gone!  They  searched  and 
searched  the  grounds,  but  to  no  avail. 
Finally,  convinced  that  it  was  lost,  they 
reported  the  matter  to  the  police. 

"  That  car  is  St.  Anthony's  particular 
care,'  said  Mr.  Hill.  'There  are  medals 
in  it  of  Saint  Christopher,  Saint  Benedict 


Sai7it  Anthony  and  the  Ford. 


25 


and  Saint  Anthony,  but  Saint  Anthony  is 
really  responsible  for  its  safe-keeping,  as  I 
gave  him  the  charge.' 

"Father  Newman  began  the  Responsory, 
for  he,  too,  had  a  special  predilection  for 
the  wonder-working  Saint,  and  neither  he 
nor  Mr.  Hill  doubted  for  a  minute  that 
the  machine  would  be  found.  When  and 
where,  of  course,  they  could  not  tell ! 

"Saturday  morning  Father  Newman 
offered  his  Mass  in  honor  of  Saint  An- 
thony, while  on  Sunday  his  congregation 
was  asked  to  pray  for  a  special  intention. 
However,  nothing  developed  that  day; 
and  Monday  passed  without  any  news. 
But  neither  Mr.  Hill's  confidence  nor  that 
of  the  priest  flagged  in  the  least." 

"Isn't  it  wonderful,"  said  Sister  Joa- 
chim musingly,  "with  what  confidence 
St.  Anthony  inspires  you.^  If  you  ever 
ask  him  for  a  thing  you  almost  forget  the 
possibility  of  not  obtaining  it." 

"Well,' Mr.  Hill  and  Father  Newman 
never  considered  that  possibility,  evi- 
dently," answered  Sister  Salome;  and 
she  went  on  with  her  story. 

"Tuesday  morning — " 

"Why,  Tuesday  is  Saint  Anthony's 
special  day,"  interrupted  Sister  Joachim. 


26 


The  JVays  of  St.  Anthony, 


But  Sister  Salome  didn't  stop.  "Tues- 
day morning,  after  Mass,  the  first  news 
came  by  telegram.  The  Ford  was  safe  and 
awaiting  its  owner  at  police  headquarters 
in  East  St.  Louis.  Of  course,  the  two  gen- 
tlemen were  amazed  and  still  more,  of 
course,  delighted;  and  that  night  found 
them  with  the  officer  of  'Wayneville  on  the 
way  to  their  destination,  two  hundred  and 
sixty-five  miles  distant. 

"They  were  evidently  expected  in  St. 
Louis,  for  when  the  three  men  entered  the 
police  station  the  next  morning,  they  were 
admitted  to  the  inner  office  without  a  de- 
mur. The  Kentucky  officer  displayed  his 
credentials  and  all  courtesy  was  shown 
to  his  party  by  the  chief  and  his  assistants. 

"After  a  little  conversation  they  were 
led  to  the  machine  in  question.  Sure 
enough,  it  was  the  missing  one!  Great 
was  their  delight  and  many  their  expres- 
sions of  gratitude  to  Saint  Anthony;  for 
Father  Newman  had  let  slip  no  time  ex- 
plaining to  these  earthly  restorers  of  lost 
things  the  assistance  they  had  received 
from  the  heavenly  one. 

"  Tt  was  remarkable/  said  the  officer 
who  had  brought  in  the  car.  T'll  admit 
Saint  Anthony's  help  without  any  ques- 


Saint  Anthony  and  the  Ford,  27 


tion ;  for  while  I  was  standing  on  the  street 
talking  to  a  friend  of  mine  last  Sunday 
afternoon,  I  saw  this  rather  new  looking 
Ford  go  by ;  and  something  told  me  very 
plainly  and  very  persistently  to  get  that 
car!'" 

"  'That  was  Saint  Anthony's  inspira- 
tion/ said  Father  Newman. 

"  'True  enough/  replied  the  officer,  'and 
I  certainly  obeyed  it.  When  I  looked  at 
the  car  more  closely  I  saw  plainly  enough 
that  it  carried  no  license,  so  I  immediately 
ordered  the  occupants  to  headquarters. 
But  the  license  wasn't  lost,'  he  added ;  'we 
found  it  under  the  front  mat.' 

"When  Father  Newman  tells  the  story 
he  says  the  drive  east  over  the  Lincoln 
Trail  was  much  pleasanter  than  the  trip 
west  on  the  railroad.  But  do  you  know, 
he  says,  they  never  could  find  a  trace  of 
the  Saint  Christopher  and  Saint  Benedict 
medals." 

"What  of  the  medal  of  Saint  Anthony.?" 
asked  Sister  Joachim. 

"Well,  that  is  remarkable,  too,"  an- 
swered Sister  Salome.  "It  had  been  fas- 
tened originally  to  the  seat,  but  evidently 
the  thieves  had  broken  it  off* ;  only  it  re- 
fused to  be  lost  and  had  hidden  itself  be- 


28  The  Ways  of  St,  Anthony. 

neath  a  little  cement  that  was  spilled  on 
the  floor  of  the  machine.  Now  what  do 
you  suppose  those  men  were  doing  with 
that  cement?" 

"I  haven't  an  idea/'  said  Sister  Joachim, 
slowly.  "But  I  think  we'd  better  ask  Saint 
Anthony  to  find  the  oil  on  that  Texas  land. 
I  don't  believe  it  would  be  half  as  hard  for 
him  to  do  that  as  to  trace  a  stolen  machine. 
And  then  we  could  build  our  chapel  and 
have  a  special  shrine  for  him.  Who  knows, 
perhaps  some  day  Father  Newman  would 
say  a  Mass  of  Thanksgiving  there !" 

"Yes,  in  honor  of  Saint  Anthony,"  fin- 
ished Sister  Salome. 


V. 


''1\/r ARTHA  found  her  war  stamp/'  said 
Sister  Joachim   coming  into  the 
room  with  her  arms  full  of  books. 

Sister  Salome  rose  quickly.  "Well,  I 
am  going  straight  out  and  say  told  you 
so.'  Martha  is  such  a  doubting  Thomas 
and  it  hurts  my  feelings  when  anyone 
doubts  Saint  Anthony!  Besides  I  must 
remind  her  that  she'll  ha\'e  to  give  the 
fifty  cents  she  promised  to  the  Bread 
Fund." 

"Did  she  promise  fifty  cents  asked 
Sister  Joachim.  "Well,  that's  not  so  bad ! 
Ten  per  cent  on  the  capital,  isn't  it.^  Please 
ask  her  where  she  found  it.  I  didn't  have 
time  to  listen  to  it  all."  And  she  settled 
herself  to  her  work  as  Sister  Salome  closed 
the  door  behind  her.  But  she  was  not  to 
have  peace  then;  for  Sister  Salome  re- 
turned almost  immediately  and  she  started 
on  a  favorite  theme  at  once. 

"It  was  behind  her  trunk  stuck  under 
the  baseboard,"  she  volunteered.  "She 
said  she  thought  it  was  in  the  trunk  but 


30 


The  Ways  of  St,  Anthony, 


she  must  have  laid  it  on  the  top  and  then  it 
fell  off  when  the  lid  was  raised.  She 
looked  and  looked  through  everj^hing  she 
had,  but  she  didn't  find  it  until  Katherine 
swept  the  floor,  and  there  it  was  !" 

"The  next  time  she'll  have  more  faith," 
remarked  Sister  Joachim,  and  she  went 
back  to  her  books. 

"Do  you  remember  the  time  you  told 
me  Saint  Anthony  liked  to  have  his  favors 
published?"  asked  Sister  Salome  after 
about  a  moment  of  silence. 

Sister  Joachim  shook  her  head  in  as- 
sent; but  she  kept  one  eye  on  her  Spanish 
book. 

"I  think  I  rather  turned  up  my  nose  at 
the  idea,"  continued  Sister  Salome,  "but 
it's  true  and  I  will  have  to  apologize  to 
you."  Whereupon  she  produced  a  letter 
from  her  pocket  and  pushed  it  across  the 
table. 

But  Sister  Joachim  didn't  move.  The 
Spanish  Subjunctive  is  not  to  be  trifled 
with  and  she  was  very  anxious  to  get 
through  with  her  task. 

"Oh,  then  I'll  read  it  to  you,"  Sister 
Salome,  not  in  the  least  daunted  went 
on,  "and  you'll  be  glad  you  are  so  gen- 
erous with  your  superior  critical  powers. 


Saint  Anthony  as  a  Salesman.  31 


and  occasionally  prod  on  my  discouraged 
efforts  to  honor  Saint  Anthony. —  You 
know  these  stories  are  as  much  yours  as 
they  are  mine,  anyway/'  she  finished. 

*^'Well,  go  on  then,"  said  Sister  Joachim, 
resignedly,  as  she  closed  her  book  for  the 
morning.  Sister  Salome  always  wanted 
someone  to  listen  to  something  at  the 
wrong  time;  though  of  course.  Sister 
Joachim  didn't  really  feel  that  way  about 
Saint  Anthony.  Dear  Saint  Anthony !  It 
was  just  the  Spanish ! 

So  very  slowly  Sister  Salome  read  aloud. 

"I  can't  quite  make  out  whether  this 
woman  has  a  store  or  not,"  she  said,  as 
she  folded  the  letter,  ''but  I  think  she  has ; 
and  anyway  I  am  going  to  make  her  have 
one,  for  otherwise  how  could  she  be  selling 
blankets?  And  the  facts  are  certainly 
true." 

Sister  Joachim  waited. 

"I  think  that  is  one  of  the  best  things 
Saint  Anthony  has  done  yet,"  mused  Sis- 
ter Salome  thoughtfully.  "That  woman 
— ^what  was  her  name.^" 

"Mary  T.  Swing,"  prompted  Sister 
Joachim. 

"Well,  Mary  T.  Swing  had  invested  all 
her  capital  in  blankets  and  she  couldn't 


32  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


sell  any  of  them.  When  she  finally  did 
make  a  sale  and  the  blankets  were  deliv- 
ered, instead  of  money  in  payment,  she  re- 
ceived word  that  they  were  not  what  had 
been  ordered,  and  were  entirely  unsatis- 
factory.'' 

"They  didn't  tell  her  what  the  trouble 
was,  did  they?"  interrupted  Sister  Joa- 
chim. "I  wonder  if  they  were  too  long 
or  too  short  or  too  heavy  or  too  light,  or 
what  was  the  matter  with  them.  I  wish 
Miss  Swing  had  told  us." 

"Well,  it  doesn't  make  any  difference, 
for  they  were  not  accepted,"  continued 
Sister  Salome,  "and  poor  Miss  Swing  was 
broken-hearted.  I  don't  think  anything 
in  this  world  is  so  difficult  to  bear  as  dis- 
appointments. Even  little  ones  hurt;  and 
think  how  she  must  have  depended  on  her 
sales.  But  now  comes  the  point  of  my 
apology.  Sister  Joachim!  Miss  Mary  T. 
Swing — I  feel  so  familiar  when  I  call  her 
plain  Mary — came  across  a  Saint  An- 
thony Messenger  with  our  story  of  ^Saint 
Anthony  as  a  Lawyer'  in  it,  and  when  she 
read  it,  she  was  encouraged  and  felt  better 
at  once." 

"Why,  we  all  feel  better  when  we  hear 
of  good  things  done  to  others,"  said  Sister 


Saint  Anthony  as  a  Salesman. 


Joachim.  "It  does  give  us  courage — or 
at  least  it  does  me.'' 

"And  it  did  Mary  T.  too/'  replied  Sister 
Salome.  "She  immediately  began  a  No- 
vena  to  Saint  Anthony  and  in  her  own 
words  'the  next  minute  after  my  prayers 
were  said  and  I  promised  Saint  Anthony  I 
would  subscribe  for  the  Messenger,  my 
heart  felt  lighter.'  " 

"Isn't  it  marvelous  what  prayer  will  ac- 
complish?" exclaimed  Sister  Joachim. 
"What  would  we  do  without  it?" 

"Nothing  at  all  for  this  world,  or  the 
next  either,"  said  Sister  Salome.  "But  the 
real  answer  to  the  Novena  came  later, 
when  just  before  it  was  finished  the  poor 
little  anxious  storekeeper  received  a  most 
happy  surprise.  The  blankets  were  not 
only  not  unsatisfactory  but  every  one  was 
sold.  Her  whole  investment  had  turned 
out  well !    Wasn't  that  splendid?" 

"Yes,  indeed,"  replied  Sister  Joachim, 
"I  should  think  it  w^as.  What  are  you  go- 
ing to  call  this  story?" 

"Just  what  the  woman  to  whom  it  hap- 
pened did,"  responded  Sister  Salome, 
"  'Saint  Anthony  as  a  Salesman' !" 


W.S.A.-2 


VL 


CISTER  SALOME  was  in  a  brown 
^  study.  Miss  Katherine  had  just  told 
her  an  old,  old  story  of  Saint  Anthony  and 
somehow  it  haunted  her.  She  could  pic- 
ture all  the  details :  the  sick  woman,  the 
determined  doctor,  the  unpalatable  medi- 
cine, the  dread  alternative,  and  then  — 
Saint  Anthony. 

Of  course,  she  tried  hard  to  keep  her 
mind  on  the  work  in  hand  but  it  was  al- 
most hopeless  for  she  wanted  to  tell  that 
story  to  spread  the  knowledge  and  love  of 
the  dear  Franciscan  Saint.  "Shall  I,  or 
shall  I  not,"  she  kept  saying  over  and  over, 
until  finally  in  desperation  she  went  off  to 
find  Sister  Joachim.  She'd  know,  and 
very  promptly ;  she  always  did. 

Sister  Joachim  was  in  the  garden  with 
Peter,  who  was  planting  potatoes  in  nice 
even  rows.  But  evidently  the  interruption 
was  not  unwelcome  for  she  came  immedi- 
ately when  she  saw  Sister  Salome  and  they 
both  sat  down  by  the  shrine  where  it  was 
shady  and  cool. 


A  Tzvice  Told  Tale  of  St.  AntJwny.  35 

''Do  you  think  it  would  be  fair  to  tell 
a  story  about  Saint  Anthony  a  second 
time?"  began  Sister  Salome.  "You  know, 
some  people  like  to  hear  the  same  thing 
over  and  over  again ;  and  my  brother  used 
to  say  he'd  take  me  every  place  he  went 
because  I  could  always  laugh  at  his  stories, 
and  I'd  heard  some  of  them  a  dozen 
times."   And  she  smiled,  remembering. 

''Oh,"  groaned  Sister  Joachim,  "Sister 
Salome,  why  don't  you  tell  the  story  first 
and  then  put  your  question,  instead  of  be- 
ginning with  the  question.^" 

"Well,  I  will,"  responded  Sister  Salome. 
Sister  Joachim  was  patient  with  her  after 
all,  so  she  went  on : 

"Miss  Katherine  told  me  she  had  a 
friend,  Mrs.  Varley,  out  in  Fenton,  who 
is  quite  an  old  lady  now  and  who  is  the 
subject  of  one  of  Saint  Anthony's  miracles. 
She  also  said,  Mrs.  Varley  had  told  the 
story  before,  but  she'd  be  only  too  glad 
to  have  it  told  again  so  the  whole  world 
could  know  what  Saint  Anthony  did  for 
her." 

"Well,  what  did  he  do?"  asked  Sister 
Joachim,  patiently. 

"Why,  he  cured  her,  of  course,"  replied 
Sister  Salome.   "You  see  when  Mrs.  Var- 


36 


TJie  IVays  of  St.  Anthony, 


ley  was  a  young  woman  she  was  a  con- 
firmed invalid.  She  had  a  tumor  that  re- 
sisted every  effort  of  the  doctor  to  cure  it, 
and  it  made  her  so  unsightly  that  she  was 
practically  confined  to  the  house." 

Sister  Joachim  looked  at  the  blue  sky, 
across  which  little  fleecy  clouds  were  scur- 
rying, and  at  the  budding  trees,  where  the 
birds  were  arguing  over  their  summer 
homes.  ^^I  can  hardly  imagine  a  greater 
cross,"  she  said,  with  a  little  prayer  of 
gratitude  for  her  own  good  health.  "What 
happened  next.^" 

"It  didn't  happen,"  replied  Sister  Sa- 
lome. "Doctor  Hopper  wanted  it,  too; 
but  Mrs.  Varley  wouldn't  consent.  He 
said,  only  an  operation  would  save  her, 
for  she  was  growing  steadily  worse;  and 
she  said,  she  would  rather  die,  though 
she  wasn't  anxious  to  do  that  either,  and 
then — enter  Saint  Anthony. 

"A  neighbor  brought  in  a  book  contain- 
ing a  short  life  of  the  Wonder-Worker, 
and  as  Mrs.  Varley  read  it  she  made  up 
her  mind.  Like  that  New  England  woman 
we  used  to  laugh  so  much  about,  'She 
made  it  up  slow  but  she  made  it  up  firm.' 
She  was  going  to  be  cured,  and  by  Saint 
Anthony,  too! 


A  Twice  Told  Tale  of  St.  Anthony.  37 


"She  didn't  have  a  statue  of  the  Saint, 
so  she  borrowed  one,  and  she  arranged 
a  Uttle  altar  near  her  bed  for  it ;  and  then 
began  her  devotions.  They  were  to  last 
nine  weeks,  a  Novena  of  weeks  instead  of 
days."  • 

"She  was  more  patient  than  most  of  us 
are,"  remarked  Sister  Joachim.  "Now^  if 
you,  for  instance,  didn't  have  days  in  your 
Novenas  you  would  have  hours,  wouldn't 
you?" 

Sister  Salome  nodded.  "How  well  you 
know  me!  But  I  can  wait  when  I  have 
to,"  she  finished. 

"What  were  the  devotions.^"  asked  Sis- 
ter Joachim. 

"Prayers,  of  course,"  was  the  reply. 
"And  one  candle  before  the  Saint  the  first 
week,  two  the  second,  and  so  on,  until  the 
last  week  found  the  shrine  brilliant  with 
nine  candles." 

"Did  the  cure  begin  right  away.^"  won- 
dered Sister  Joachim. 

"No,  Saint  Anthony  waited  until  his 
own  day,  Tuesday,  before  he  made  the 
slightest  move.  It  was  then  that  Mrs. 
Varley  felt  the  first  change  in  her  condi- 
tion." 

"I  wonder  why  people  say  that  Tuesday 


38 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


is  Saint  Anthony's  day?"  mused  Sister 
Joachim,  as  she  watched  a  sleek  blackbird 
swagger  across  the  lawn. 

'Well,  it  hasn't  been  xtry  long  since 
I  asked  the  same  question  myself,"  and 
Sister  Salome  smiled  as  she  thought  of 
Father  David's  hunt  for  the  answer.  "So 
out  of  my  profound  knowledge  I'll  en- 
lighten you.  Saint  Anthony  was  buried 
on  Tuesday,  and  maybe  it  was  his  habitual 
humility  that  made  him  love  the  day  on 
which  he  was  finally  hidden  from  the  gaze 
of  the  world,  but  am^vay,  when  he  ap- 
peared to  one  of  his  clients  afterwards  he 
told  her  to  make  a  devotion  of  nine  con- 
secutive Tuesdays  and  her  prayer  would 
be  heard.  So  Airs.  Varley  began  to  im- 
pro\'e  on  Tuesday  and  then  she  went  right 
on.  The  doctor,  not  knowing  he  had  a 
rival  in  heaven,  had  brought  two  bottles 
of  medicine,  a  kind  of  last  resource.  And 
what  do  you  suppose  Mrs.  Varley  did  with 
them.f"' 

"Threw  them  away  —  that's  what  I 
would  have  done,"  answered  Sister  Joa- 
chim. 

"No,  she  didn't  do  that,"  and  Sister 
Salome  shook  her  head.  "She  didn't  say 
a  word  to  the  doctor  though,  but  she  took 


A  Twice  Told  Tale  of  St.  Antliony.  39 


those  two  bottles  and  put  them  behind  the 
statue  saying,  'Saint  Anthony,  I'll  take  no 
more  medicine;  you'll  have  to  cure  me/ 
and  went  right  on  praying  and  improving 
steadily.  By  the  end  of  the  Novena  she 
was  cured." 

"What  did  the  doctor  say  when  he  found 
it  out?"  interrupted  Sister  Joachim. 

"The  doctor  thought  his  medicine  had 
cured  her.  When  he  first  saw  how  well 
she  looked,  and  how  well  she  was,  he  was 
delighted  and  clapped  his  hands  saying, 
'Bully!  bully!  I'll  get  you  through!'  But 
Mrs.  Varley  says,  she  thought  to  herself, 
'Saint  Anthony  will  get  me  through  with  - 
out your  aid,  my  good  doctor!'  And  so  he 
did.  And  she  says,  she's  sure  it  was  Saint 
Anthony,  for  she  continued  her  daily  de- 
votions to  him  after  her  cure,  until  one 
time  she  perceived  a  return  of  the  old  pain. 
When  she  told  her  husband,  he  said, 
'There!  you  have  forgotten  your  prayers 
to  Saint  Anthony!'  and  sure  enough,  Mrs. 
Varley  acknowledged  she  hadn't  thought 
of  them  for  a  couple  of  days." 

"I  wish  things  like  that  would  happen  to 
me  when  I  forget,"  said  Sister  Joachim, 
after  a  short  pause. 

"Well,  if  your  patron  saint  had  a  sense 


40  TIic  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


of  humor,  maybe  they  would,"  laughed 
Sister  Salome.  "They  say,"  she  went  on, 
"that  Mrs.  Varley  is  responsible  for  the 
public  devotions  to  Saint  Anthony  in  the 
church  at  Fenton.  She  did  everything  she 
could  to  stir  up  the  congregation  and  she 
begged  the  money  for  the  statue.  It  is 
lovely,  too.  Miss  Katherine  says." 

"I  wish  we  had  a  nice  statue  of  him," 
sighed  Sister  Joachim  thinking  of  the 
wonderful  things  he  did.  "Why,  he  might 
even  build  the  chapel  we  want,  and  we 
need  his  help  for  so  many  things.  But  to 
answer  your  questions,  if  I  were  you  I 
would  tell  this  story  a  second  time." 

Sister  Salome  got  up  and  went  into  the 
house;  but  Sister  Joachim  sat  perfectly 
still.  She  was  thinking  of  the  sweet  Fran- 
ciscan Saint ;  and  through  her  mind  went 
over  and  over  the  line  of  the  Responsory 
"From  beds  of  pain  the  sick  arise." 


VII. 


A  FTER  a  long  conversation  at  the  tele- 
phone,  Sister  Salome  came  back  into 
the  room. 

"That  was  John  Bradford,"  she  vouch- 
safed, "and  what  do  you  think?  He  and 
Anne  lost  all  their  luggage  when  they  were 
here  last  week.  Someone  stole  the  suit- 
cases out  of  their  automobile  while  they 
were  at  dinner,  and  John  is  very  much 
upset." 

"How  did  it  happen?"  asked  Sister 
Joachim  looking  up  from  the  pile  of  pa- 
pers she  was  correcting. 

"Well,  some  of  his  mother's  things  were 
with  theirs,"  was  the  answer.  "And  John 
carried  the  cases  into  her  house  so  she 
could  get  her  own  possessions,  and  when 
he  put  them  back  in  the  trunk,  he  didn't 
lock  it.  Then  they  went  to  his  sister's  for 
dinner,  and  when  they  got  into  the  ma- 
chine, an  hour  later,  the  suit-cases  were 
gone." 

"That  doesn't  sound  like  John,"  re- 


42  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 

marked  Sister  Joachim;  ''but  I  suppose 
all  men  take  chances." 

"They'd  never  get  anywhere  if  they 
didn't,  though  they  sometimes  come  to 
grief  over  them and  Sister  Salome  sighed 
at  the  remembrance  of  a  few  of  her  own 
experiences. 

"Of  course  you  told  John  to  pray  to 
Saint  Anthony  and  promise  him  some- 
thing for  his  Bread  Fund."  Sister 
Joachim  smiled  as  she  went  back  to  her 
work.  She  knew  Sister  Salome  and  her 
ways,  and  that  the  Bread  Fund  was  a  very 
special  hobby. 

"Why,  of  course,  what  else  could  I  say.^" 
was  the  reply. 

The  next  morning  Sister  Salome  began 
a  Novena  to  Saint  Anthony.  She  felt  sort 
of  responsible  for  the  loss  and  she  didn't 
want  to  have  John  and  Anne  tell  everyone 
they  had  lost  all  their  possessions  w^hen 
they  came  to  spend  her  feast-day  with  her, 
though  it  w^as  the  downright  truth,  and 
besides  they  might  never  want  to  come 
again !" 

"I  think  ril  write  a  letter  to  Anne  and 
tell  her  to  pray  to  Saint  Anthony  too,  and 
ril  send  her  some  Saint  Anthony's  stories 


Saint  Antliony  as  a  Detective.  43 


to  cheer  her  up.  Confidence  is  a  great 
asset  when  one  prays !"  and  Sister  Salome 
proceeded  to  put  her  resolution  into  effect 
at  once. 

But  two  or  three  weeks  slipped  away 
and  as  no  more  was  heard  from  the  luck- 
less ones,  their  loss  got  pushed  into  the 
background,  for  examinations  were  loom- 
ing large. 

Then  came  a  letter  in  Anne's  hand- 
WTiting.  No  one  but  Anne  would  use 
green  ink!  When  Sister  Salome  cut  the 
envelope,  she  had  to  stoop  to  pick  up  a 
clipping  which  had  been  enclosed,  and  this 
is  what  she  read: 

BOYS'  CAVE  IS  RAIDED. 

Three  Youths  Arrested  and  Quantity  of 
Furnishings  Held  as  Evidence. 

Three  boys  were  seized  Monday  afternoon  and 
a  gorgeously  decorated  cave  in  a  new  realty  addi- 
tion was  raided  by  the  detectives,  who  found 
draperies  hung  across  the  entrance  and  several 
empty  suit-cases  and  some  women's  wearing 
apparel,  which  the  police  are  holding  as  evidence. 
W  hile  investigating  recent  burglaries  of  school 
buildings  on  the  East  Side,  the  officers  came 
across  the  cave.  The  youths  were  turned  over 
to  the  juvenile  authorities. 


44  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


"It  breathes  of  Sherlock  Holmes/' 
thought  Sister  Salome  as  she  opened  the 
letter.   Anne  wrote: 

Columbus,  Ohio. 

Dear  Sister  Salome: 

Saint  Anthony  is  indeed  our  friend!  This  clip- 
ping is  from  Tuesday  morning's  paper.  After 
reading  it  I  felt  convinced  that  the  wearing 
apparel  was  ours.  That  afternoon  Mother  and 
Paul  went  to  the  police  station  with  me,  where 
we  found  the  grips,  but  with  very  little  in  them. 
Wednesday  morning  John  and  our  lawyer  got 
busy,  but  the  boys  refused  to  tell  anything,  stick- 
ing to  the  fact  that  they  found  them  in  a  culvert. 
However,  in  all  their  chasing  up  of  clues,  Paul 
ran  across  a  young  man  who  had  purchased 
John's  pearl  stick-pin  for  seventy-five  cents,  it 
being  valued  at  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  by 
John.  Well,  today  they  "sweated"  the  boys  and 
one  told  that  they  stole  a  ride  on  the  train  to 
Frostberg  and  sold  them  to  some  pawnbroker,  so 
Paul  has  gone  with  the  officers  this  afternoon  to 
see  how  much  they  can  recover,  and  Fm  believing 
that  he  is  going  to  bring  back  the  clothes  and 
jewelry,  too.  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^  y\\  write  again 
soon,  but  I  just  had  to  let  you  know  of  all  this. 
I  feel  so  grateful  to  you  and  all  the  Sisters  for 
all  their  dear  prayers.  Many,  many  thanks  and 
love  to  all,  and  here's  an  extra  share  for  you ! 

Lovingly,  Anne. 

P.  S. — Colored  ink  is  the  latest  fashion,  so 
please  do  not  mind  my  being  fashionable  !  !  !  !  ! 


Saint  Anthony  as  a  Detective. 


When  she  had  flnished  reading,  Sister 
Salome  stood  perfectly  still  for  a  few  mo- 
ments. How  did  Saint  Anthony  ever  plan 
out  all  these  affairs?  It  wasn't  any  trou- 
ble, of  course,  for  him  to  put  the  Grade 
Book  on  the  Parlor  table  when  she  had 
left  it  in  a  third-floor  class  room ;  and  it 
didn't  require  any  thinking  to  make  her 
find  a  letter  lost  for  three  days,  safe  among 
the  contents  of  her  capacious  pocket,  but 
to  string  Anne  Bradford's  best  dresses 
across  a  line  in  the  children's  playhouse 
so  the  whole  detective  service  of  a  large 
city  couldn't  find  them  for  a  month, — that 
certainly  was  ingenious. 

"Sister  Joachim,  listen  to  this,"  read 
Sister  Salome,  after  she  had  trailed  the 
busy  nun  up  and  down  three  flights  of 
stairs;  and  Sister  Joachim  listened  in- 
tently. Then  she  took  the  clipping  and 
read  it  herself.  "Is  that  John's  offering 
for  the  Bread  Fund.^"  she  asked,  as  she 
looked  at  the  paper  in  Sister  Salome's 
hand  while  giving  back  the  letter. 

"No,  that's  a  side-track  of  Anne's  — 
sounds  just  like  her,  too!  It  appears  she 
mislaid  some  War  Stamps,  and  in  a  panic 
promised  Saint  Anthony  twenty-five  dol- 
lars for  his  Bread  Fund  if  she  found  them, 


46  The  IVays  of  St.  Anthony. 


which  she  very  promptly  did  in  her  Safety 
Deposit  Box.  It  seems  to  me  I  wouldn't 
call  them  lost,  but  she  did,  and  she's  pay- 
ing her  debt." 

''I  think  Anne  is  a  lovely  girl/'  said  Sis- 
ter Joachim. 

^^She  certainly  is  a  dear/'  echoed  Sister 
Salome,  ''and  John  was  just  made  for  her." 
Sister  Salome's  heart  was  very  tender  to- 
wards these  young  friends  of  hers,  and  in- 
deed Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradford  had  their 
own  warm  place  in  the  Convent  circle  of 
friends. 

Nothing  more  was  heard  from  them  un- 
til the  Jubilee  brought  them  to  the  Con- 
vent for  the  festivities,  and  then  there  were 
always  people  around,  so  Sister  Salome 
had  to  bide  her  time  to  ask  the  question 
which  was  on  the  tip  of  her  tongue. 

''Anne,  how'd  your  suit-case  affair  turn 
out.^"  she  began,  when  at  last  the  two  had 
a  chance  for  a  real  talk. 

"Didn't  I  ever  tell  you  that.^"  exclaimed 
Anne.  "Well,  we've  been  so  busy  getting 
settled  in  our  new  home,  I  haven't  had 
time  to  write.  But  do  you  know,  I  got 
almost  all  my  things  back,  though  John 
was  not  so  fortunate.  However,  he's  per- 
fectly satisfied.   And  it  was  so  remarkable 


Sai)it  Antlioux  as  a  Detective. 


how  the  pohcemen  found  the  cave.  There 
was  a  band  of  boys  about  twelve  or  four- 
teen years  old,  regular  little  toughs  they 
were,  and  they  managed  to  get  hold  of  a 
smaller  lad  whom  they  took  with  them  to 
their  cave.  It  was  in  a  stone  culvert  and 
you'd  never  suspect  it  was  there  until  you 
walked  in.  Of  course  the  child  was 
amazed,  and  that  night  at  the  dinner  table 
he  told  his  father  where  he  had  been  and 
what  he  had  seen,  and  his  father  at  last 
became  suspicious  and  telephoned  the 
police." 

"And  how  did  you  e\'er  think  those 
things  were  yours  when  you  read  that  clip- 
ping in  the  paper.^"  asked  Sister  Salome. 

"1  just  felt  it,"  said  Anne.  ''When  we 
walked  into  the  Police  Station,  my  brother 
Paul  and  I,  there  lay  our  suit-cases !  The 
officers  in  charge  asked  me  why  we  hadn't 
reported  the  loss  at  once,  and  I  told  him  it 
was  reported  inside  of  twenty  minutes 
after  discovery.  But  you  see,  we  said  our 
suit-cases  were  gone,  and  never  thought 
to  call  them  automobile  suit-cases,  and  as 
these  looked  just  like  a  traveling  man's 
box  the  police  never  connected  them  with 
our  loss." 


48 


TJie  Ways  of  St,  Anthony. 


"It  took  Saint  Anthony  to  make  that 
connection/'  laughed  Sister  Salome. 

Later  in  the  evening  John  got  out  his 
check-book.  ''How  shall  we  make  it  out," 
he  asked  as  he  examined  his  fountain  pen. 

Why,  to  Saint  Anthony  s  Bread  Fund,'' 
replied  Sister  Salome  with  delight. 


VIII. 


"CISTER  JOACHIM,"  said  Sister  Sa- 
^  lome  as  she  gazed  thoughtfully  at  the 
blank  sheet  of  paper  before  her  and  then  at 
the  newly  sharpened  lead-pencil,  "if  you 
liked  a  person  very  much,  would  you 
rather  hear  several  little  things  about  him 
or  one  big  thing?" 

"Is  that  a  conundrum?"  asked  Sister 
Joachim  from  across  the  study  table,  "be- 
cause if  it  is  ril  give  it  up.  I  have  too 
many  problems  to  correct  this  evening  to 
think  about  conundrums,"  and  Sister 
Joachim  returned  despairingly  to  the  pile 
of  papers  before  her. 

However  Sister  Salome  was  not  to  be 
put  off  in  that  manner.  "It  is  not  a  co- 
nundrum," she  answered  indignantly.  "I 
simply  want  to  know  whether  you  think 
I'd  better  tell  a  number  of  small  favors 
Saint  Anthony  has  granted  or  make  th:s 
story  wholly  about  a  big  one." 

"What  small  ones,  as  you  call  them,  are 
you  going  to  tell?  All  of  those?"  and  Sis- 
ter Joachim  looked  at  the  numerous  let- 


50  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


ters  Sister  Salome  had  scattered  before 
her.  But  she  knew  by  experience  that  the 
sooner  she  satisfied  Sister  Salome,  the 
sooner  she  would  get  back  to  her  inter- 
rupted work ;  and  besides,  as  she  so  often 
reminded  herself  when  such  interruptions 
did  come,  she  loved  the  wonder-working 
Saint  very  dearly,  too. 

Sister  Salome  laughed.  ''Hardly,"  she 
replied,  "but  some  of  them.  They  are  not 
really  small,  of  course;  in  fact,  some  of 
them  are  a  matter  of  life  and  death;  but 
they  are  incidents  that  people  have  writ- 
ten to  Father  David  without  giving  any 
details ;  and  Father  David  told  me  to  use 
them  as  I  chose." 

''And  you  want  to  use  several  in  the 
same  story,"  said  Sister  Joachim.  "I  see; 
well,  tell  me  one." 

Sister  Salome  did  not  have  to  be  urged. 
"Here's  one,  a  beautiful  one,"  she  began, 
"about  a  woman  whose  baby  was  sick; 
and  besides  making  a  Xovena  and  apply- 
ing Saint  Anthony's  medal,  what  do  you 
suppose  she  thought  of  doing 

"I  haven't  any  idea,"  said  Sister 
Joachim. 

"She  gave  the  child's  weight  in  bread 
to  Saint  Anthony  for  his  poor,  and  the  lit- 


Saint  Aiitlwny's  ''Little  Things/'  51 

tie  one  began  to  get  well  immediately,  al- 
though doctors  and  nurses  had  given  it 
up." 

"Why,  I  don't  see  how  he  could  refuse 
a  favor  asked  that  way/'  exclaimed  Sister 
Joachim.  "That  sounds  like  a  story  out 
of  the  Ages  of  Faith." 

"It  is  always  the  Ages  of  Faith  where 
Saint  Anthony  is  concerned/'  said  Sister 
Salome  seriously ;  and  then  she  fell  to  ex- 
amining her  conscience  to  see  where  her 
own  faith  was  wanting  since  the  dear 
Franciscan  Saint  steadily  refused  her  what 
she  asked  for.  But  she  knew  she  didn't 
ask  properly.  She  had  not  sufficient  pa- 
tience and  she  always  wanted  the  answer 
right  away. 

"The  child's  weight  in  bread/'  Sister 
Joachim  was  repeating  softly  to  herself. 
"I  like  that!  The  Saints  do  almost  any- 
thing that  mothers  ask  them,  don't  they.^" 
she  finished  aloud.  "I  suppose  they  think 
about  their  own  mothers  and  then  they 
can't  refuse." 

"Oh!  there  are  many,  many  mother 
stories !"  eagerly  exclaimed  Sister  Salome. 
"Here  is  a  letter  from  a  mother  who  wants 
to  thank  Saint  Anthony  for  taking  care  of 
her  son.    He  was  a  radio  operator  on  a 


52 


TJie  IVays  of  St.  Anthony. 


ship  and  was  uninjured  when  two  barges 
of  dynamite  exploded  near  it  and  killed 
about  a  hundred  people." 

"I  fancy  the  Saints  like  gratitude,  too/' 
said  Sister  Joachim.  "Don't  you  love  to 
think  of  them  as  being  human  just  like  we 
are.?" 

"I  certainly  do/'  was  the  prompt  re- 
sponse ;  "but  here  is  another  mother  who 
insists  that  you  don't  even  have  to  ask 
Saint  Anthony.  You  have  only  to  speak 
lovingly  about  him  and  he  helps  you." 

"Does  writing  about  him  do  just  as  well 
as  talking  about  him.?"  queried  Sister 
Joachim  mischievously,  but  Sister  Salome 
ignored  this  personal  thrust  and  went 
right  on. 

"She  says  she  and  her  children  were  dis- 
cussing him  one  morning  at  the  breakfast 
table  and  in  the  middle  of  the  conversa- 
tion her  little  daughter  suddenly  exclaimed 
that  she  had  lost  the  tiny  diamond  out  of 
the  ring  she  wore.  The  family  were  dis- 
tressed and  they  all  looked  for  it.  How- 
ever, when  school  time  came  the  children 
had  to  leave  so  the  mother  continued  the 
search  alone.  She  says  she  did  not  say  a 
prayer  but  Saint  Anthony  must  have 
taken  their  talk  as  one,  for  when  she  got 


Saint  Anthony's  ''Little  Things/'  53 

back  to  the  dining  room  there  was  that 
httle  stone  lying  among  some  grains  of 
sugar  sprinkled  on  the  table." 

Sister  Joachim  had  forgot  her  evening's 
task  by  the  time  this  story  was  ended. 
"Any  other  one?"  she  asked. 

"Yes,"  was  the  answer,  "one  about  a 
woman  —  not  a  Catholic  —  who  lost  her 
pocket-book  and  bewailed  it  because  of 
some  treasures  she  carried  in  it.  Not 
money,  you  know,  but  trifles  with  asso- 
ciations connected  with  them." 

"What  did  she  do  about  it.^  Anything 
different.^"  asked  Sister  Joachim. 

"Not  particularly  different,"  replied  Sis- 
ter Salome.  "She  just  w^ent  off  to  some 
Sisters  for  consolation  and  they  told  her  to 
pray  and  to  promise  Saint  Anthony  an 
alms  if  she  found  it;  but  she  wouldn't 
wait ;  she  gave  the  alms  at  once." 

"And  when  did  she  find  it.^"  asked  Sister 
Joachim.  "Oh,  dear!"  she  added  sud- 
denly, "I  wish  you  hadn't  begun  this  for 
I  have  to  finish  these  papers  and  I  just 
can't  help  listening  to  stories  about  Saint 
Anthony.    When  did  she  find  it.^" 

"She  didn't  find  it  at  all  for  months," 
answered  Sister  Salome,  "and  she  had 
almost  given  up  hope,  when  some  man 


54  TJic  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


picked  it  up  near  a  street  car  track  where 
it  had  apparently  been  lying  all  the  time. 
It  was  completely  ruined  but  the  contents 
were  undisturbed." 

^'Saint  Anthony  is  very  impartial,  isn't 
he.^  Sort  of  all  things  to  all  men/'  said 
Sister  Joachim. 

Sister  Salome  did  not  heed  this  remark, 
as  she  was  rummaging  through  her  letters. 
''I  am  going  to  stop  now,"  she  announced 
finally,  as  she  found  what  she  was  search- 
ing for,  ''but  I'll  have  to  tell  you  about 
Alice  first.  I  call  her  Alice  for  I  feel  as 
though  I  knew  her.  She  makes  me  think 
of  you.  Sister  Joachim." 

Sister  Joachim  grunted.  "She  must  be 
interesting,"  she  remarked. 

But  Sister  Salome  went  right  on :  "Now, 
Alice  wanted  a  big  picture  of  her  patron 
Saint  that  was  being  raffled  at  a  Church 
bazaar.  She  had  only  one  chance,  but  she 
prayed  and  prayed  that  she  might  win  it 
and  she  felt  so  sure  she  would  that  she 
even  asked  her  nephew  to  go  w^ith  her  to 
the  hall  to  carry  it  home  for  her." 

"Well,  that  was  confidence,"  inter- 
rupted Sister  Joachim.    "Did  she  get  it.^" 

"Don't  be  in  such  a  hurry,  my  dear," 
returned  Sister  Salome  in  a  righteous 


Saint  Anthonys  ''Little  Things/'  55 

v^oice,  "you'll  find  out  soon.  It  seems  that 
a  wealthy  lady,  an  acquaintance  of  Alice's, 
wanted  the  picture,  too,  and  probably 
thought  that  her  numerous  chances  en- 
titled her  to  it,  for  as  she  said  very  grandly, 
'Saint  Anthdny  is  a  friend  of  mine.'  Well, 
he  is  a  cousin  of  mine,'  boldly  replied  her 
rival,  not  to  be  outdone,  'and  I  mean  to 
win  him!'  I  wonder  how  it  would  feel  to 
have  a  Saint  for  a  cousin,"  added  Sister 
Salome. 

"Some  people  say  it  is  very  hard  to  live 
with  one,  but,  of  course,  I've  never  tried 
it,"  laughed  Sister  Joachim  with  a  glance 
across  the  table. 

"Well,  some  day  you'll  have  a  chance 
then,"  was  the  reply.  "That  is  if  you  out- 
live me,"  and  Sister  Salome  made  her  a 
little  bow. 

"Did  Alice  win  her  picture.^"  resumed 
Sister  Joachim. 

"Of  course,  she  did.  And  what  do  you 
think  She  wasn't  satisfied  then  with  her 
cousinly  relationship,  for  in  the  exuber- 
ance of  her  joy,  she  says  at  the  end  of  her 
letter,  'and  now  Saint  Anthony  is  my 
brother,  as  I  am  a  Tertiary.'  Isn't  that 
dehehtful.?" 

When  the  two  had  stopped  laughing. 


56 


The  iVays  of  St.  Antnony. 


Sister  Joachim  said:  ''That's  another 
reason  why  I  Uke  Saint  Anthony.  He  cer- 
tainly does  enjoy  a  joke.  Do  you  remem- 
ber Father  David  telhng  about  the  woman 
who  asked  him  to  let  her  find  a  dime  she 
had  lost  and  she  found  two?  But  don't 
you  hate  to  lose  things?" 

Sister  Salome  did  not  answer  at  once. 
"I  am  afraid  I  don't  mind  it  so  much  as 
I  should,"  she  confessed  finally.  "Saint 
Anthony  won't  give  me  what  I  want  him 
to,  but  he  finds  ever}'  thing  I  misplace.  I 
just  say  nine  Our  Fathers,  and  Hail  Marys 
and  Glorys,  or  promise  them  to  him,  and 
then  I  don't  have  to  worry,  he'll  find  it." 

"Well,  I  notice  he  often  gives  you  a  scare 
or  tw^o  before  he  does  find  them,"  re- 
marked Sister  Joachim.  "Fve  seen  you 
searching  frantically  for  things  I  knew  you 
had  lost!" 

Sister  Salome  laughed.  "That's  the 
reason  I  like  all  these  little  things  he  does, 
and  want  to  tell  about  them.  They  give 
me  confidence ;  and  as  you've  noticed  cor- 
rectly, I  often  have  need  of  confidence," 
she  finished. 


IX. 


&t  ;antl)on?  anti  t^t  Q^one?  in  t^t  UXoot 

"WHERE  did  you  get  that?"  asked 
Sister  Joachim  suspiciously,  as  Sis- 
ter Salome  entered  the  room  with  a  dollar 
bill  in  her  hand.  Sister  Salome  was  the 
custodian  of  the  Chapel  Fund,  and  it  was 
an  open  secret  that  every  thing  she  could 
collect  went  to  swell  the  dimes  and  the 
nickels  and  even  the  unused  postage 
stamps  that  were  hoarded  under  that  dig- 
nified name.  But  she  was  accustomed  to 
such  imputations,  so  she  only  laughed  as 
she  replied : 

Why  Elizabeth  Blake  gave  it  to  me  for 
Saint  Anthony's  Bread  Fund.  She  is  pay- 
ing an  honest  debt  for  she  lost  her  pocket- 
book  during  the  crowded  Christmas  shop- 
ping and  promised  Saint  Anthony  a  dol- 
lar if  he  would  find  it.  By  the  time  she 
2Ct  to  the  claim  desk,  there  it  was.  The 
\A'onder-Worker  was  swifter  than  Eliza- 
beth." 

'Well,  didn't  Marion  give  you  a  dollar 
this  morning  for  one  of  her  lost  posses- 
sions.^" asked  Sister  Joachim.  "I  thought 
I  heard  something  of  it." 


58 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


"Oh  yes,  her  rosary.  She  says,  it  simply 
disappeared,  and  knowing  it  was  in  some 
pocket,  she  ransacked  every  one  she  had 
but  couldn't  find  it ;  then  she  promised  a 
dollar  to  the  Bread  Fund,  went  to  get  a 
paper  out  of  her  raincoat,  and  there  was 
the  rosary.  But  that  dollar  is  upstairs. 
This  is  not  the  same  one." 

"That  makes  me  think  of  what  Father 
David  told  us  about  a  friend  of  his,  a  book- 
keeper— I  think  he  said,  her  name  was 
Grace.  She  was  a  dollar  short  in  her  ac- 
counts and  promised  Saint  Anthony  a 
quarter,  if  he  found  the  mistake  for  her. 
Saint  Anthony  paid  no  attention.  Then 
she  promised  him  a  dollar  and  immedi- 
ately the  error  was  discovered.  ^Oh!'  said 
Grace,  'Saint  Anthony  has  raised  his 
prices,  too !'   And  she  paid  the  dollar." 

"I  should  think  she  would,"  replied  Sis- 
ter Salome. 

"Isn't  it  queer,"  said  Sister  Joachim, 
musingly,  "that  Saint  Anthony's  name  is 
so  closely  associated  with  money,  and  yet 
he  himself  was  as  poor  as  a  church- 
mouse." 

"Perhaps  that's  the  reason  he  can 
handle  so  much  of  it  and  not  be  defiled," 
was  the  answer,  "for  besides  being  as  poor 


St.  Anthony  and  the  Money  in  the  Roof.  59 

as  a  church-mouse,  he  was  poor  in  spirit, 
too.  And  then  you  must  remember  that 
Saint  Anthony  has  plenty  of  common 
sense  and  he  knows  people  have  to  have 
money  if  they  want  to  Hve  and  raise  a 
family." 

"Wouldn't  it  be  interesting  to  make  a 
list  of  Saint  Anthony's  characteristics  — 
just  those  we  have  found  out  through 
people's  letters,"  said  Sister  Joachim.  '^I 
wonder  which  one  I  should  like  best." 

"Let's  try  it,"  exclaimed  Sister  Salome. 
"There's  his  common  sense,  and  his  love 
of  gratitude,  and  his  appreciation  of  a  joke 
— but  speaking  of  people's  letters,  I  have 
one  here  that  I  am  much  interested  in," 
and  she  produced  a  thick  envelope  from 
her  pocket. 

"What  is  it.^"  asked  Sister  Joachim 
settling  herself  to  listen. 

"It  is  from  Mrs.  Manly,  a  woman  in  the 
West  who  writes  about  an  affair  she  was 
personally  connected  with.  She  says  that 
one  day  during  the  Fair  in  San  Francisco, 
she  was  called  to  the  phone  by  a  neighbor 
of  hers,  Mrs.  Worhouse,  a  woman  she  had 
known  for  years.  Mrs.  Worhouse  with 
her  husband  and  ten-year-old  son,  lived  on 
one  of  the  hills   overlooking  the  Fair 


GO  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 


Grounds,  and  Master  Fred  spent  much 
time  on  the  roof  of  the  house  inspecting 
what  was  going  on  at  the  Fair.  It  appears 
it  was  a  very  steep  gabled  roof  and  was 
reached  by  a  ladder  nailed  to  the  side  wall. 
Can  you  imagine  anything  more  attractive 
to  a  small  boy.^" 

''It  sounds  as  though  it  were  made  for 
Fred's  benefit,  doesn't  it.^"  laughed  Sister 
Joachim.  ''Think  what  our  boys  would 
do  if  we  had  a  building  like  that.  It  would 
be  worse  than  the  cherry  tree." 

"Couldn't  be,"  answered  Sister  Salome, 
recalling  the  various  encounters  she  had 
had  with  the  masculine  element  of  the 
school  during  cherr}'  time.  Then  she 
laughed.  "Think  of  all  the  cherry  trees 
there  have  been  and  of  all  the  small  boys, 
yes,  and  small  girls,  too,  that  have  at- 
tacked them,  and  still  the  world  goes  on ! 
But  to  go  back  to  the  story. 

"Mrs.  Worhouse  said  she  had  been 
robbed.  She  had  saved  the  money  for  her 
rent  and  when  she  had  the  proper  amount 
she  had  it  changed  to  a  bill  which  she  put 
in  a  pocket-book  with  some  small  coins, 
and  laid  it  away  for  the  collector's  call. 
That  morning,  he  had  come,  and  after  an 
exchange  of  pleasantries,  she  took  out  the 


St,  Anthony  and  tlic  Money  in  the  Roof.  Gl 

pocket-book,  opened  it,  and — the  bill  was 
gone!  Poor  Mrs.  Worhouse  was  dazed. 
She  had  worked  so  hard  to  save  it  and 
then  to  lose  it  just  at  the  moment  it  was 
most  needed  seemed  too  hard  to  bear." 

"The  collector  was  very  considerate.  He 
said  he  would  wait  and  come  back  in  a 
week  or  so;  and  after  he  was  gone  Mrs. 
Worhouse  searched  the  place.  It  was  a 
hopeless  task  and  finally  she  went  to  the 
telephone  to  pour  out  her  troubles  to  Mrs. 
Manly.  She  knew  her  friend  had  great 
devotion  to  Saint  Anthony  and  she  begged 
her  prayers." 

"I  wonder  if  w^e  Catholics  ever  realize 
what  our  devotion  to  the  Saints  means 
to  other  people,"  said  Sister  Joachim, 
earnestly.  "And  besides,  isn't  it  a  comfort 
to  have  someone  as  big  and  wise  and  as 
holy  as  a  Saint  is,  to  help  us  in  our 
troubles.^"  Sister  Joachim  fairly  purred 
w^ith  contentment  at  the  thought;  and 
Sister  Salome  made  an  act  of  thanksgiving 
for  her  own  particular  friends  in  heaven, 
but  aloud  she  said: 

"Mrs.  Manly  tried  to  console  Mrs.  Wor- 
house for  her  loss,  and  immediately  began 
a  devotion  to  the  dear  Franciscan  Saint, 
that  he  would  find  the  money.    In  the 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


meantime  Mrs.  Worhouse  searched  again. 
Xo  nook,  no  corner,  was  left  unvisited, 
but  what  was  the  use.^  The  money  was 
not  to  be  found.  The  first  day  passed,  and 
the  second  day  passed,  and  the  third  day 
was  almost  ended  when  Mrs.  Manly's 
telephone  rank  loud  and  long.  As  she  took 
down  the  receiver,  Mrs.  Worhouse  began 
breathlessly: 

''What  do  you  think  I  have  found  my 
mon^y." 

"Do  you  know,  sometimes  a  telephone 
bell  actually  tells  you  who  is  at  the  other 
end  of  the  line.^"  said  Sister  Joachim  w^ith 
assurance. 

"Yes,  and  sometimes  it  doesn't,"  re- 
marked Sister  Salome  drily,  remembering 
the  agent  who  had  wanted  her  to  buy  soap 
a  few  days  before.  "Anyway,  Mrs.  Manly 
didn't  expect  such  an  announcement  as 
that.   'Tell  me  about  it,'  she  said. 

"  'You  know  how  hard  it  rained  this 
morning,'  was  the  rejoinder.  'Well,  our 
roof  leaked,  and  leaked  pretty  badly,  too. 
So  I  asked  the  agent  to  send  a  man  to  fix 
it  and  he  came  straight  out.'  " 

"That  was  a  strange  agent,"  murmured 
Sister  Joachim,  who  often  had  leaks  to  see 
to. 


St.  Aiitliojiy  aud  tJic  Money  in  the  Roof.  G3 

Sister  Salome  paid  no  attention.  She 
repeated  Airs.  Worhouse's  words.  "  'He 
came  straight  out  and  it  only  took  him  a 
short  time  to  repair  the  leak  as  there 
seemed  to  be  but  one  shingle  out  of  place. 
Of  course,  my  little  son  went  up  to  super- 
intend the  job.  Then  about  an  hour  after 
the  man  left,  Fred  came  to  me' — Mrs. 
Worhouse  stopped  with  a  catch  in  her 
breath." 

'''And  then/  said  Mrs.  Manly  after 
waiting  a  moment.  Mrs.  Worhouse  went 
on  bravely:  'Fred  told  me  the  man  who 
fixed  the  roof  had  my  money'  'Did  you 
ever.^'  exclaimed  A4rs.  Manly.  'Where 
did  he  get  it.?"' 

"  'You  may  well  ask  where  he  got  it,' 
said  Mrs.  Worhouse.  'Why  it  was  in  the 
hole  on  the  roof;  the  shingle  had  been 
taken  up  and  the  money  put  inside,  and 
the  shingle  had  been  replaced  again ;  but 
badly,  of  course.'  " 

"Who  ever  would  look  for  money  in  a 
hole  in  a  roof,"  said  Sister  Joachim.  Then 
she  laughed.  "We  have  some  holes  in  our 
own  as  we  know  when  it  rains.  Do  you 
suppose  we  could  find  money  in  any  of 
them.?" 

"If  we  had  a  Fred  to  put  it  there,  we 


64 


TJic  JVays  of  St,  Anthony. 


might,"  remarked  Sister  Salome  signifi- 
cantly. 

"Why!"  gasped  Sister  Joachim.  This 
was  astounding  information. 

"I  don't  wonder  you  are  amazed/'  said 
Sister  Salome.  "But  it  is  the  truth.  Mrs. 
Worhouse  said,  her  little  boy  confessed 
that  he  had  taken  the  money  from  the 
purse,  and  then,  not  knowing  what  to  do 
with  it,  he  had  climbed  to  the  roof,  his 
favorite  resort,  removed  a  shingle  and  put 
it  carefully  into  the  hole.  No  one  thought 
anything  about  his  going  up  on  the  roof 
because  he  spent  so  much  time  there  any- 
way." 

"What  made  him  tell  his  mother.^" 
asked  Sister  Joachim. 

"Mrs.  Worhouse  said  he  went  up  the 
ladder  after  the  man  and  watched  him  to 
see  if  he  would  find  the  money.  Then  he 
saw  him  pick  it  up,  look  at  it  carefully, 
and  put  it  in  his  pocket.  When  the  work 
was  done,  the  lad  waited  around  to  see  if 
the  man  would  give  it  to  his  mother,  but 
instead,  he  went  off  with  it.  Then  Master 
Fred  got  scared  and  breaking  down,  told 
her  all  about  it." 

"Mrs.  Worhouse  called  him  up  and  he 
came  right  out  again.   Then  she  told  him 


St.  Antlwjiy  and  the  Money  in  the  Roof.  65 

about  the  money  having  been  there  and 
that  her  Uttle  boy  had  seen  him  take  it. 
The  man  did  not  deny  it  at  all.  He  only 
asked  her  if  she  could  describe  the  bill,  and 
when  Mrs.  Worhouse  told  him  it  was  an 
old,  worn,  twenty-dollar  bill,  he  handed  it 
to  her  without  another  word." 

''Now,  Sister  Joachim,"  said  Sister  Sa- 
lome after  a  short  pause.  "Which  was 
really  Saint  Anthony's  part  in  the  affair; 
making  the  boy  own  up  about  taking  the 
money,  or  making  the  man  give  it  up.^" 

"Why  both  of  them,  of  course," 
promptly  replied  Sister  Joachim,  "for  if 
the  boy  had  not  owned  up,  the  man  would 
never  have  been  asked  for  the  money; 
and  if  the  man  had  not  given  it  up,  there 
never  would  have  been  any  story  about 
Saint  Anthony!" 


X. 


&t  antjong  at  (Cbng  tCum 

'HE  room  was  very  quiet.    Even  the 


automobiles  on  the  Avenue  seemed 
hushed,  and  nothing  broke  the  stillness 
except  the  occasional  scratching  of  Sister 
Salome's  pencil,  or  the  scraping  of  her 
eraser  across  her  paper.  She  was  in  a  great 
hurry  and  she  hardly  lifted  her  head  as  she 
wrote  and  wrote.  This  story  had  to  be 
finished  by  night,  for  Father  David  was 
depending  on  it  and  she  did  not  want  to 
disappoint  him.  So  she  looked  at  Sister 
Joachim  just  long  enough  to  smile  when 
the  latter  entered  the  room,  and  then  went 
right  on  with  her  task.  Sister  Joachim 
sat  down  quietly  and  waited.  All  of  a  sud- 
den Sister  Salome  said: 

"Wasn't  Virginia  Cain  here  today,  Sis- 
ter Joachim.^" 

Sister  Joachim  nodded.  "Yes,"  she  an- 
swered. "She  just  got  home  and  came 
right  over  to  see  us.  Wasn't  that  nice.^ 
She  says  they  are  going  to  try  to  get  a 
house,  and  if  they  succeed  she'll  give  you 
a  Saint  Anthony  Story." 


St.  Anthony  at  Every  Turn. 


67 


Sister  Salome  laughed.  "Don't  talk  to 
me  about  Saint  Anthony  stories/'  she  said. 
"I'm  swamped  now  trying  to  fit  all  of  these 
together,"  and  she  pointed  to  the  pile  of 
paper  before  her. 

"Well,  be  sure  to  put  in  about  the  man 
w^ho  employs  Saint  Anthony  as  an  In- 
surance Agent.  Father  David  declares  he 
sends  his  premium  regularly  and  is  per- 
fectly confident  he'll  never  have  a  fire.  I 
fancy  he  won't  either,"  finished  Sister 
Joachim. 

"If  I  were  Saint  Anthony  I  wouldn't 
let  him,"  said  Sister  Salome,  "and  I'd  also 
prosper  a  man  who  writes  he  has  taken 
the  Wonder-worker  for  a  business  partner. 
He  gives  him  fifteen  per  cent  of  all  his 
earnings." 

"Do  you  know.  Sister  Salome,"  said  Sis- 
ter Joachim  earnestly,  "I  am  profoundly 
impressed  by  all  these  letters  you  have. 
The  spirit  of  faith  and  resignation  they 
manifest  is  remarkable,  and  confidence! 
why,  there  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  it." 

"Confidence !"  exclaimed  Sister  Salome. 
"Here's  a  letter  from  a  young  man  who 
had  confidence,"  and  she  picked  up  an  en- 
velope and  opened  it.  The  writer  was  a 
Henry  Bergman,  a  workman,  who  evi- 


68 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


dently  could  be  very  successful  if  he  tried. 
But  the  pity  of  it  was  that  he  didn't  try, 
and  drifting  with  bad  companions  into 
drink,  he  dropped  his  religion,  and  lost  his 
employment,  so  he  soon  had  nothing. 

"That  missionary  priest  who  was  here 
the  other  day  told  me,"  said  Sister  Joa- 
chim, "that  very  few  people  who  leave 
the  Church  do  it  because  they  lose  their 
faith.  Most  of  them  simply  drift  through 
carelessness." 

"Well,  Mr.  Bergman  writes  that  he 
never  lost  his  faith,"  answered  Sister  Sa- 
lome, "and  he  also  says  that  he  seemed  to 
hold  fast  to  his  confidence  in  Saint  An- 
thony. Perhaps  that  is  what  brought  him 
back."  And  she  went  on  with  the  letter. 

It  seemed  that  the  young  man's  condi- 
tion finally  got  so  bad  he  had  absolutely 
nothing  and  then  he  was  startled  into 
thinking.  He  made  a  great  resolution  to 
reform.  Of  course,  he  needed  money  so 
he  asked  his  brother  to  lend  him  some. 
The  brother,  of  course,  had  little  faith  in 
his  promises  and  flatly  refused  him. 
"Saint  Anthony,  help  me,"  murmured  the 
young  fellow  as  he  turned  away,  and  Saint 
Anthony  must  have  helped  him,  for  the 
very  next  morning  the  brother  came  back 


St,  Anthony  at  Every  Turn.  69 


with  twenty-five  dollars,  the  amount  he 
had  been  asked  for. 

"Now,"  said  Sister  Salome,  "Mr.  Berg- 
man is  doing  well.  He  has  prospects  of  a 
good  position  and  he  has  promised  to  send 
the  Bread  Fund  a  dollar  each  w^eek  for  a 
year  in  thanksgiving." 

"Did  he  ask  to  have  the  story  pub- 
lished.^" asked  Sister  Joachim  as  Sister 
Salome  laid  down  the  letter. 

"Yes,  and  I  myself  am  beginning  to  be- 
lieve in  that  sort  of  thanksgiving,"  was  the 
answer.  And  then  with  a  smile  Sister 
Salome  went  on :  "If  Saint  Anthony  ever 
finds  the  oil  on  that  Texas  land  we'll  have 
to  publish  it  from  the  housetops."  That 
Texas  land  was  a  standing  joke  between 
the  two.  "Here's  another  letter,  a  very 
different  kind." 

It  was  written  by  a  woman  who  was 
sending  an  offering  to  the  Bread  Fund  in 
thanksgiving  for  finding  a  valuable  pin. 
The  offering,  she  said,  was  "a  great  sacri- 
fice but  it  would  have  been  a  greater  one 
to  have  lost  the  pin."  She  had  shaken  it 
out  of  the  window  when  she  was  cleaning 
and  she  did  not  miss  it  until  the  next  day 
when  she  was  dressing  to  go  out.  She  at 
once  besieged  Saint  Anthony,  and  on  her 


70 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 


way  down  street  she  stopped  at  a  neigh- 
bor's house  to  ask  her  prayers  also.  But 
to  her  surprise  the  neighbor  greeted  her 
with  the  assurance  that  the  lost  treasure 
was  perfectly  safe,  as  her  own  little  grand- 
son had  picked  it  up  and  it  was  in  her 
possession  that  very  minute. 

''Where  did  that  woman  live?"  asked 
Sister  Joachim. 

''In  Philadelphia/'  replied  Sister  Sa- 
lome, "but  here  is  a  letter  from  St.  Louis, 
one  from  Newark,  New  Jersey,  one  from 
Louisville,  one  from  Beloit,  Wisconsin, 
another  from  Covington.  Oh,  they  come 
from  all  over  the  Union.  A  man  from 
Jamaica  Plain,  Massachusetts,  writes  to 
thank  Saint  Anthony  for  protecting  him 
from  injury  in  the  explosion  of  a  tank  he 
w^as  working  on.  He  says  he  knows  it  was 
Saint  Anthony  because  about  twenty  min- 
utes before  it  happened  he  was  saying  his 
rosary  and  reading  the  Manual  in  honor 
of  the  Saint.  Sister  Joachim,  I  could  hang 
my  head  when  I  read  things  like  that.  But 
here's  a  letter  that  sounds  like  our  Ethics 
Class  problems." 

"Read  it,"  said  Sister  Joachim.  "Let's 
see  how  the  dear  Franciscan  Saint  solves 
such  cases." 


St,  Anthony  at  Every  Turn, 


71 


"A  Mrs.  Burton  writes:  'I  bought  a 
dress  and  paid  for  it  but  the  same  was  not 
satisfactory,  so  it  was  returned.  The  com- 
pany refused  to  return  my  money.  They 
deUberated  a  whole  month,  during  which 
time  I  prayed  to  Saint  Anthony.  Yester- 
day I  received  a  check  from  them.'  Now, 
what  do  you  think  of  that.^"  asked  Sister 
Salome. 

"I  think  that  Saint  Anthony  believes 
that  ^the  greatest  of  these  is  charity,'  said 
Sister  Joachim.  ''Did  you  hear  the  tale 
Sister  Louise  told  the  other  day  about  an 
experience  of  hers.^" 

"No,"  answered  Sister  Salome  with  in- 
terest.   "Our  Sister  Louise.^    What  was 

itr 

"You  know  Sister  Louise  is  a  convert," 
was  the  reply.  "She  became  a  Catholic 
when  she  was  about  twelve  years  old  at 
the  Convent  where  she  was  at  school  at 
that  time.  Not  long  after  she  went  home 
her  mother  came  to  her  and  said:  'Dude, 
you  go  into  the  other  room  and  say  a 
prayer  to  that  Saint  that  finds  things.  I 
have  lost  the  money  your  father  sent  me.' 
Mrs.  Barret  did  not  even  know  Saint  An- 
thony's name,  but  she  wanted  the  money 
which  she  had  lost.    It  was  rolled  up  and 


72 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


fastened  with  a  rubber  band,  and  what 
she  had  done  with  it  she  hadn't  an  idea." 

"Do  you  suppose  Sister  Louise  enjoyed 
a  joke  as  much  then  as  she  does  now?" 
asked  Sister  Salome.  ''She  must  have 
been  amused.   I  can  just  see  her." 

"I  don't  know  whether  she  did  or  not; 
but  she  said  the  prayer,  though  the  money 
did  not  turn  up  at  once,  and  Mrs.  Barret 
went  on  searching.  After  a  while  Sister 
Louise  asked  if  she  and  her  sister  could  get 
some  pieces  from  the  ragbag  to  make  doll 
clothes,  and  when  the  permission  was 
given,  they  ransacked  it:  and  what  do 
you  think  There  was  that  roll  of  money. 
Evidently  Mrs.  Barret  had  gathered  it  up 
with  the  scraps  off  the  sewing  machine 
and  stuffed  it  away.  But  she  knew  the 
proper  thing  to  do.  'Dude,'  she  said,  'you 
go  right  in  and  say  some  prayers  to  that 
Saint  in  thanksgiving*'  and  Sister  Louise 
went." 

"That's  the  story  I  am  going  to  end 
with,"  announced  Sister  Salome  with  a 
little  chuckle.  "It  is  what  you  might  call 
a  homegrown  product,  and  I  think  I  ought 
to  patronize  it,"  and  Sister  Salome  bent 
once  more  over  her  paper  and  began  to 
write. 


XL 


T7[7'HEN  one  wanted  to  be  quiet  and 
write  there  was  no  place  like  the 
bench  out  on  the  lawn.  The  trees  were 
so  beautiful  with  their  fresh  spring  gowns ; 
and  the  blackbirds  hadn't  been  North  long 
enough  to  be  saucy  yet ;  while  the  fat  rab- 
bit that  sat  up  on  his  haunches  and  looked 
so  wise,  was  a  perfect  delight.  Yes,  that 
was  the  place  to  go,  so  Sister  Salome  gath- 
ered her  papers  and  pencils  and  departed 
out  of  her  warm  classroom.  Her  fingers 
were  itching  to  write,  and  why  shouldn't 
they  be,  when  Saint  Anthony  had  done  a 
wonderful  thing,  indeed,  and  she  was  to 
have  the  honor  of  telling  about  it.^  Sister 
Salome  felt  she  was  very  blest.  This  was 
the  story: 

Martha  Davis  lived  with  her  mother 
and  sister,  Dorothy,  in  a  large  city  and 
they  made  a  very  happy  family.  Every 
one  knew  that  Martha  had  a  cataract  on 
one  eye  and  had  had  it  for  years ;  but  she 
was  so  bright  and  cheery  in  spite  of  it,  that 
it  never  occurred  to  people  to  feel  sorry 


74 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


for  her.  Even  the  family  no  longer  sug- 
gested an  operation.  ''No,  no/'  Martha 
used  to  say  when  the  subject  was  first 
broached.  "I  won't  think  of  it  at  all.  I 
won't  even  consider  it.  So  please  drop  the 
matter."  And  no  wonder  she  could  not 
muster  up  her  courage. 

Twenty  years  before,  when  Martha  was 
a  young  girl,  her  friends  noticed  that  she 
was  getting  very  near-sighted.  She  held 
her  paper  very  close  to  her  eyes  when  she 
read,  and  sewing  seemed  impossible  un- 
less the  work  was  almost  in  her  face.  Her 
mother  thought  she  needed  glasses  and  so 
one  day  took  her  to  Dr.  Harding,  a  spe- 
cialist, to  have  her  eyes  tested.  Who  does 
not  know  what  the  wait  in  a  doctor's  office 
is?  Time  drags  heavily  and  is  relieved 
only  by  an  occasional  glimpse  of  the  white- 
clad  figure  as  he  smiles  upon  his  patients 
and  then  disappears  for  another  inter- 
minable period.  But  Mrs.  Davis  and 
Martha  were  not  accustomed  to  complain 
so  they  sat  very  quietly  until  they  were 
summoned  into  the  great  man's  private 
office.  It  did  not  take  him  very  long  to 
diagnose  the  case  and  he  soon  announced 
that  Martha  was  suffering,  not  from  near- 
sightedness, as  she  thought,  but  from  a 


Saint  Anthony  as  a  Specialist.  75 

cataract  on  each  eye.  The  announcement 
came  Uke  a  thunderbolt. 

Sister  Salome  laid  her  pencil  down  very 
slowly.  Then  she  looked  up  at  the  blue 
sky  towards  which  a  gray  streak  was  rising 
steadily  from  a  distant  smokestack.  All 
around  the  grass  was  green  and  on  the 
edge  of  the  walk  a  Robin  Redbreast  was 
cocking  his  head  as  though  considering 
the  merits  of  something  creeping  among 
the  flowers.  Sister  Salome  took  a  long 
breath !  Had  she  ever  really  thanked  God 
for  her  gift  of  sight,  she  wondered.  What 
a  blessing  it  was  !  And  she  could  so  easily 
have  lost  it,  a  hundred  times  over.  She 
was  surely  ungrateful ;  but  she  would 
never  be  again,  and  she  began  once  more 
to  write. 

Dr.  Harding  said  the  only  thing  to  do 
was  to  perform  an  operation.  He  would 
first  clear  the  right  eye,  and  later  would 
remove  the  cataract  from  the  left  one, 
which  was  not  quite  so  bad.  There  was 
nothing  really  to  worry  about,  he  said. 
He  had  removed  many  such  conditions 
and  his  success  in  this  case  was  almost 
certain.  He  spoke  in  such  a  confident 
manner  that  both  Martha  and  her  mother 
took  hope,  and  before  they  left  it  was 


76  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 

agreed  that  the  former  should  go  to  the 
hospital  the  next  morning  and  the  Doctor 
would  make  her  as  good  as  new. 

That  evening  was  scarcely  a  merry  one 
in  the  Davis  household,  though  each  one 
tried  to  think  of  something  pleasant  to 
say,  just  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the  oth- 
ers. However,  at  last  it  was  over,  the  night 
was  past,  and  Martha  with  her  mother  and 
sister  presented  herself  at  the  hospital, 
pretty  badly  frightened,  but  outwardly 
brave  and  smiling. 

Dr.  Harding  was  in  high,  good  spirits, 
and  his  cheery  "good  morning"  was  very 
reassuring.  The  preparations  were  speedily 
made  and  the  oculist  set  to  work.  After 
a  while  Martha  began  to  think  something 
must  be  the  matter;  the  Doctor  looked 
worried ;  and  there  was  a  queer  feeling  in 
her  eye.  She  thought  that  it  must  be  drain- 
ing. Even  after  the  nurse  had  bandaged 
out  all  the  light  and  had  put  her  to  bed, 
she  could  feel  the  same  sensation;  but  she 
supposed  it  was  part  of  the  operation  and 
so  asked  no  questions  and  made  no  com- 
plaint. 

When  Mrs.  Davis  arrived  at  the  hos- 
pital the  following  morning,  the  truth 
came  out.    In  some  unaccountable  way, 


Saint  Anthony  as  a  Specialist.  77 

Dr.  Harding  had  cut  the  eye-ball  and  the 
damage  was  irreparable.  The  eye  was 
running  steadily  and  would  continue  to 
run  until  the  socket  was  empty,  and  there 
would  be  a  total  loss  of  sight. 

Mrs.  Davis  was  heart-broken,  of  course, 
but  she  was  too  much  mistress  of  herself 
to  make  an  outcry;  and  besides,  Martha 
must  be  saved  as  much  as  possible.  If  it 
was  God's  will,  then  they  would  all  have  to 
bear  it.  Only  after  she  had  returned  home, 
did  the  full  measure  of  her  grief  show  it- 
self, and  she  and  Dorothy  sorrowed  to- 
gether. 

In  the  evening  Dorothy  was  going  to  the 
hospital,  so  after  tea  she  started  out.  But 
before  she  left  the  house,  she  wrote  a  peti- 
tion to  the  Wonder-worker  and  promised 
him  an  offering  for  his  Bread  Fund,  if  her 
sister's  sight  was  saved.  That  would  be 
a  miracle  indeed!  The  eyeball  had  col- 
lapsed and  the  liquid  contents  had  almost 
entirely  escaped.  Dorothy,  however,  reso- 
lutely dropped  her  petition  into  the  box 
before  the  Saint's  shrine  in  the  Church, 
and  then  forced  herself  to  hope. 

Nor  was  she  to  be  disappointed.  The 
very  next  morning,  the  draining  sensation 
ceased.   When  a  little  later  on,  the  nurse 


78  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


removed  the  bandages  for  the  doctor,  his 
amazement  was  beyond  words  to  describe. 
The  socket  was  not  only  not  empty,  but 
to  add  to  his  astonishment,  he  found  that 
it  was  refining  and  that  the  eyeball  was 
reshaping  itself.  The  thing  was  beyond 
the  comprehension  of  the  learned  man 
who  knew  nothing  of  the  dear  Franciscan 
Saint  and  his  ways.  But  he  was  to  have 
still  another  shock,  for  on  the  third  day 
Martha  could  see  anything  held  before  her. 
When  she  returned  home  the  only  differ- 
ence her  friends  saw  in  her  appearance  was 
that  her  right  eye  looked  very  bright  be- 
hind her  new  glasses !  The  miracle  w^as 
worked ! 

'T  wonder  how  it  would  feel,"  said  Sis- 
ter Salome  to  herself,  "to  know  that  you 
had  been  the  object  of  a  true  miracle." 
For  a  long  time  she  sat  still  pondering 
this ;  then  she  heard  the  meditation  bell 
ring.  "Am-^vay,"  she  added  aloud  as  she 
gathered  up  her  things,  "the  Responsory 
is  right.  If  you  would  see  miracles,  ask 
Saint  Anthony  for  them,"  and  she  went  in 
to  prayers. 


XII. 


''Dear  Father  David: 

must  write  and  tell  you  of  my  great  escape 
from  death,  for  I  was  surely  as  near  death  as 
any  one  could  be  and  not  get  a  scratch ;  but  it  is 
all  due  to  Saint  Anthony  that  I  am  still  alive 
tonight." 

"There,  now;  that  will  surely  be  a 
story/'  said  Sister  Salome  to  herself  as  her 
eyes  ran  hastily  through  the  letter  she  held 
in  her  hands. 

"What  will  surely  be  a  story?"  asked 
Sister  Joachim,  who  had  entered  the  room 
just  in  time  to  hear  the  end  of  the  remark. 

"Oh!"  said  Sister  Salome,  "I  was  just 
wishing  you  were  here.  It  is  so  much 
easier  to  make  up  your  mind  when  you 
have  some  one  to  disagree  with  you;  and 
I  am  all  at  sixes  and  sevens  as  to  which 
letters  to  use  this  time." 

"Read  that  one  to  me,  the  whole  thing," 
and  Sister  Joachim,  sitting  down  near  the 
window  where  she  could  keep  one  eye  on 
Peter  mowing  the  grass  outside,  "and  then 
I'll  advise  you  and  you'll  probably  do  as 
you  please  in  the  end." 


80  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


Sister  Salome  smiled.  She  was  too  in- 
terested in  her  work  just  then  to  be  greatly 
offended,  and  besides  she  had  a  lurking 
suspicion  that  what  everyone  said  must 
be  true.   She  turned  the  paper  over. 

'This  is  a  letter  from  a  Mrs.  Morrow," 
she  said.  ''But  I  think  after  all  I'll  write 
the  story  first  and  then  I'll  read  it  to  you. 
That  will  give  you  a  variety,  anyway,"  she 
finished. 

So  Sister  Joachim  went  out  to  Peter  and 
Sister  Salome  wrote  quietly,  referring 
every  now  and  then  to  the  letter  lying  be- 
fore her.  After  a  while  she,  too,  went  out 
doors  and  put  her  manuscript  into  Sister 
Joachim's  hand.    This  was  what  it  said: 

Mrs.  Morrow  had  many  things  to  do 
that  day  and  she  set  about  them  in  her  own 
methodical,  housew^ifely  way.  She  was 
cheery  and  happy,  and  smiled  a  bit  as  she 
moved  around.  This  was  her  birthday 
and  one  always  feels  different  on  a  birth- 
day. Maybe  something  was  going  to  hap- 
pen !  One  by  one  the  morning  chores  were 
done,  the  children  looked  after,  the  house 
straightened.  Then  came  the  hour  for  the 
baby's  nap,  that  precious  restful  time  when 
the  little  head  lay  soft  upon  her  breast  as 
she  crooned  the  slumber  song.    But  first 


St.  Anthony — A  Life  Saver. 


81 


she  would  make  sure  of  Miss  Margaret's 
whereabouts  for  that  sturdy  Httle  daughter 
was  just  at  the  exploring  age  when  she 
needed  a  watchful  eye.  However,  she  was 
easily  found  for  she  was  safe,  intently 
making  a  garden  over  in  the  corner  of  the 
yard  where  the  first  green  things  came  in 
spring.  Mrs.  Morrow  suddenly  remem- 
bered how  she  had  always  looked  for  the 
stars  of  Bethlehem  as  part  of  her  early 
April  birthday.  With  a  tender  little  feel- 
ing for  all  childhood  she  turned  back  to 
her  baby. 

No — she'd  stop  before  she  sat  down  and 
put  that  pan  of  fat  she  wanted  to  render 
into  the  oven.  It  was  not  very  hot  now 
and  the  grease  would  be  ready  for  her  be- 
fore dinner.  It  hardly  took  as  long  to  do 
it  as  it  did  to  think  it,  and  soon  she  and 
sleepy  little  Mary  were  cuddled  in  the 
rocking  chair  by  the  dining-room  window. 
Slowly  the  soft  little  body  relaxed,  the  long 
silken  eye-lashes  lay  quiet  on  the  round 
pink  cheeks,  and  the  mother's  voice  grew 
still. 

Just  then  Mrs.  Morrow's  eyes  happened 
to  see  her  little  Manual  of  Saint  Anthony 
lying  on  the  table  near  her.  She  was  mak- 
ing a  Novena  to  her  patron  Saint,  so  she 


82  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 

opened  the  book  and  turned  to  the  Respon- 
sory.  She  would  say  it  before  she  put  the 
baby  down  and  then  she  would  go  back 
to  her  various  duties.  Dear  Saint  An- 
thony! Surely  he  would  give  her  what 
she  asked  him  for  so  earnestly ;  and  verse 
by  verse  the  praper  slipped  off  her  lips. 

Then  she  rose  quietly  and  laid  the  sleep- 
ing child  on  the  bed  in  the  next  room,  pass- 
ing as  she  went  the  little  one's  crib  which 
stood  near  a  door  leading  into  the  kitchen. 
Usually,  in  fact  always,  that  was  Mary's 
napping  place,  but  this  morning  Mrs.  Mor- 
row went  right  by  it  without  knowing  why. 
For  a  moment  she  stood  watching  her 
baby  as  it  lay  quietly  sleeping  with  just 
the  shadow  of  a  smile  across  its  lips. 
Surely  God  was  good  to  her,  and  in  her 
heart  she  framed  a  prayer  of  gratitude  as 
she  thought  of  her  two  wonderful  children, 
her  splendid  husband,  and  the  home  that 
sheltered  them  all. 

Now  for  many,  many  things  that  still 
awaited  her  capable  hands.  Happily,  Mrs. 
Morrow  went  back  into  the  kitchen  and 
proceeded  to  open  carefully  the  oven  door. 
With  the  first  whiff  of  air  that  entered,  the 
burning  grease,  and  even  the  pan  that  con- 
tained it,  shot  out  onto  the  kitchen  floor. 


St.  Anthony — A  Life  Saver, 


83 


Instantly  the  room  was  in  a  blaze.  Walls 
and  ceilings  were  great  splotches '  of  fire 
and  grease.  The  door  in  the  living-room 
was  blown  open  and  the  pillow  in  the 
empty  baby-crib  caught  the  flame. 

Just  then  Mr.  Morrow,  coming  across 
the  yard,  saw  the  ominous  glare  and 
rushed  to  the  door,  only  to  see  his  wife 
dazed  and  motionless  in  the  midst  of  the 
fire. 

When  the  flames  had  been  extinguished 
and  the  havoc  could  be  more  plainly  seen, 
Saint  Anthony's  power  shone  clearly  forth. 
Mrs.  Morrow  was  untouched,  not  so  much 
as  a  spot  of  grease  stained  her  clothing; 
and  the  baby  had  been  saved  by  being  laid 
upon  the  bed. 

Sister  Joachim  handed  the  papers  back 
with  a  smile.  "That  was  a  wonderful  es- 
cape," she  said.  "I  should  think  she  could 
tell  now  just  how  the  three  youths  felt  in 
the  fiery  furnace." 

"And  Father  David  knows  her,  too," 
said  Sister  Salome.  "She  is  a  friend  of  his. 
When  we  hear  of  such  things,  how  can  we 
ever  falter  in  our  trust 


XIII. 


feaint  antjonp  anti  jflDur  €omm\xnitii 

"CISTER  SALOME,  why  don't  you 
^  make  your  last  Saint  Anthony  story 
a  Community  affair?  I  heard  two  of  the 
Sisters  discussing  a  remarkable  thing  this 
morning,  and  it  just  occurred  to  me  that 
many  of  the  other  Sisters  have  had  favors 
done  to  them,  too,"  said  Sister  Joachim 
as  the  two  met  on  the  back  stairs. 

"That's  a  fine  idea,"  answered  Sister  Sa- 
lome heartily,  "but  do  you  suppose  they 
would  tell  their  own  experiences  for  publi- 
cation?" 

"Try  them,  try  them,"  urged  Sister 
Joachim  who  had  been  doing  some  recon- 
noitering  on  the  subject. 

"I  believe  I  will,"  replied  Sister  Salome 
but  she  did  not  sound  very  enthusiastic. 
Sisters  did  not  like  to  have  their  affairs  in 
print.  But  "it's  all  for  a  good  cause"  she 
thought  as  she  entered  the  Infirmary  to 
visit  Sister  Irene.  Sister  Irene  had  had 
some  sort  of  a  stroke  but  she  was  so  cheery 
and  patient,  it  was  a  tonic  to  spend  five 
minutes  with  her.  As  luck  would  have  it, 
the  Infirmarian  was  there,  too,  and  she 
was  famous  for  her  stories,  so  Sister  Sa- 


Saint  Anthony  and  Our  Community,  85 

lome  at  once  began  in  her  most  persuasive 
tone. 

"Sister  Ambrose,  please  tell  me  a  real 
Saint  Anthony  story.  Something  he  did 
for  you,  you  know." 

But  Sister  Ambrose  did  not  respond  as 
she  was  supposed  to  do.  On  the  contrary, 
she  looked  severely  at  Sister  Salome  and 
remarked : 

"Indeed,  then,  Til  give  you  no  Saint 
Anthony  story.  Not  if  I  had  a  whole  field 
full,  I  wouldn't,"  she  went  on.  "I  gave 
you  an  authentic  Saint  Joseph  story  a  long 
while  ago  and  you  never  wrote  it."  And 
from  that  position  of  defense  of  her  patron 
Saint,  Sister  Ambrose  could  not  be  moved. 
The  invalid  and  the  culprit  laughed  to- 
gether. The  latter  had  a  guilty  conscience, 
for  she  knew  Sister  Ambrose  had  justice 
on  her  side;  and  moreover  she  was  very 
fond  of  the  Infirmarian  and  so  could  afford 
to  laugh  at  her.  But  to  tell  the  truth,  the 
laugh  was  mostly  on  herself. 

A  little  later  in  the  morning  she  met 
Sister  Estelle  by  whom  she  was  accosted. 
"I  hear  you  want  some  incidents.  I  have 
this  one  for  you,"  and  Sister  Estelle  told 
about  something  that  happened  when  she 
was  a  little  girl. 


'86  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 

"1  remember  going  home  from  school 
one  day/'  she  said,  "and  being  met  at  the 
door  by  my  mother.  She  was  very  much 
distressed  and  she  told  me  to  go  right  back 
to  the  church  and  pray  to  Saint  Anthony 
to  recover  my  father's  horse  and  wagon 
which  had  been  stolen.  I  was  horror- 
stricken  at  such  a  loss  and  I  very  willingly 
went.  I  remember  my  mother  gave  me  a 
banana  to  eat  on  the  way.  Isn't  it  funny 
how  little  things  like  that  stick  in  the 
mind.^"  and  Sister  Estelle  smiled  at  the 
recollection.  "I  suppose  I'll  remember  the 
banana  when  I've  forgotten  all  about  the 
horse." 

"Did  you  get  it  back.^"  asked  Sister  Sa- 
lome. 

"Yes,  I  made  a  promise  to  Saint  An- 
thony for  his  Bread  Fund  and  said  some 
prayers ;  and  then  I  went  home  again. 
But  mother  kept  on  praying  most  of  the 
evening.  We  all  felt  very  bad,  and  father 
was  quite  upset.  We  went  to  bed  a  very 
blue  family ;  and  what  do  you  think  .^^  The 
next  morning  at  five  o'clock  the  horse  and 
wagon  were  found  tied  to  our  hitching 
post.  One  of  the  neighbors  saw  them  first 
and  ran  over  and  wakened  the  family  to 
tell  us  of  it." 


Saint  Anthony  and  Our  Community.  87 


"That  was  wonderful,"  said  Sister  Sa- 
lome. "Where  do  you  suppose  they  came 
from?" 

"We  never  knew,"  answered  Sister  Es- 
telle;  "but  my  father  always  thought 
either  someone  just  borrowed  them  for 
some  reason  and  then  returned  them;  or 
if  a  thief  took  them,  he  got  conscience 
struck  and  brought  them  back  when  no 
one  could  see  him." 

"That  will  make  a  fine  beginning,"  said 
Sister  Salome.  "Thank  you  very  much," 
and  she  started  off  to  find  Sister  Celestine 
who  was  generally  in  the  Community  at 
that  hour.  She  had  heard  Sister  Celes- 
tine's  story  some  time  before  but  had  for- 
gotten the  particulars;  and  it  was  only 
after  she  had  threatened  to  make  up  those 
parts,  that  Sister  Celestine,  in  self-defense 
began : 

"It  was  one  day  when  two  Postulants 
were  received.  Each  one  wore  a  beautiful 
neckchain  which  had  been  loaned  to  com- 
plete the  bridal  costume.  When  they  went 
into  the  fore-choir  to  put  on  their  habits, 
the  Mistress  of  Novices  handed  me  the 
chains  to  care  for  until  they  could  be  re- 
turned to  their  owners.  I  didn't  like  the 
trust  very  much;   but  I  took  them  and 


88  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 

tied  them  both  in  a  clean  handkerchief, 
thinking  they  would  be  safe  there.  After 
the  ceremony  I  met  some  friends  and  we 
went  all  over  the  house  and  lawns.  It 
was  a  beautiful  day  so  we  walked  more 
than  usual  for  me,  and  I  didn't  get  in  until 
the  Angelus  rang.  I  stopped  long  enough 
to  say  it  just  in:>ide  the  children's  refectory 
door,  and  then  went  on  in  to  supper.  After 
I  had  finished  eating  I  pulled  my  rosary 
out  of  my  pocket  hoping  to  say  a  few 
decades  before  the  meal  was  done,  when 
to  my  surprise  and  horror,  I  found  one  of 
those  chains  wound  around  my  rosary. 
My  heart  almost  stopped  beating.  Where 
was  the  other  I  assure  you  I  began  to 
pray,  and  I  searched  by  pockets  but  the 
handkerchief  was  empty  and  the  necklace 
was  gone.  Hurriedly  I  asked  permission 
to  leave;  but  I  w^as  distracted,  and  I  did 
not  know  where  to  go  first.  I  begged  Saint 
Anthony  to  direct  me  to  the  place  where 
the  necklace  was  and  then  I  started  out 
to  retrace  my  afternoon  travels.  As  I 
passed  the  children's  refectory  door,  Sister 
Irene  was  just  getting  ready  to  serve  the 
boarders,  and  she  ignored  me  when  I 
stopped  to  ask  if  she  had  seen  the  missing 
article.    But  as  I  turned  to  go  something 


Saint  Anthony  and  Our  Community.  89 


bright  in  the  corner  caught  my  eye.  I 
had  not  been  near  that  corner  but  I  went 
over  and  picked  up  the  necklace.  If  it 
had  been  anywhere  else  on  the  floor  it 
would  have  been  trampled  on,  but  as  it 
was,  it  was  unharmed.  Now/'  finished 
Sister  Celestine,  ''that  is  my  Saint  An- 
thony story." 

''Thank  you  very  much/'  replied  Sister 
Salome.  "I  am  glad  I  didn't  have  to  make 
up  the  parts,  as  I  threatened.  Yours  are 
much  better." 

"See  that  you  use  them  then,"  was  Sis- 
ter Celestine's  parking  shot  as  Sister  Sa- 
lome started  after  Sister  Angelica,  whose 
step  she  had  heard  iu  the  corridor.  Sister 
Angelica  had  stopped  to  speak  to  Sister 
Margaret  about  the  lights,  so  Sister  Sa- 
lome thought  this  was  her  chance  to  kill 
two  birds  with  one  stone. 

"Anything  remarkable  from  Saint  An- 
thony in  this  congregation,"  she  began  as 
she  drew  near;  "any  real  live  favors  from 
the  Wonder-worker.^" 

Little  Sister  Angelica's  French  eyes 
sparkled.  "I  sent  my  mother  clothes  and 
money  all  during  the  war,  and  I  always 
put  a  picture  of  Saint  Anthony  in  each 
parcel  and  nothing  was  ever  lost."  The 


DO 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 


dear  little  Nun  was  an  exile,  and  the  War 
had  been  very  hard  on  her  family  in 
France,  so  her  gratitude  to  the  dear  Fran- 
ciscan Saint  was  boundless.  "I  pray  to 
him  every  day,"  she  added. 

"My  tale  is  a  very  homely  one,"  said 
Sister  Margaret.  "One  morning  I  was 
getting  breakfast  and  after  the  hash  was 
made  I  w^ent  out  to  the  back  kitchen  to 
clean  the  chopping  machine.  As  I  passed 
the  table  I  picked  up  a  platter  with  onion 
peels  and  scraps  on  it  and  thought  I'd  burn 
them,  so  I  laid  the  parts  of  the  chopper 
on  the  platter  to  carry  them  back.  There 
was  a  big  fire  in  the  range  and  I  scraped 
the  refuse  in  and  went  on  about  my  work. 
In  a  few  moments  I  remembered  about 
the  chopper  and  wanted  to  put  it  together 
so  I  could  set  it  away ;  but  I  couldn't  make 
it  fit  and  then  I  discovered  that  the  screw 
was  gone.  I  looked  everywhere  for  it,  and 
finally  began  to  pray  to  Saint  Anthony. 
Then  I  remembered  about  burning  the 
refuse  and  I  opened  the  door  of  the  range 
and  poked  up  the  coals.  Saint  Anthony 
was  certainly  taking  care  of  that  screw, 
for  there  it  was,  red  hot,  but  there.  Maybe 
I  wasn't  glad.^" 

"You're  a  fraud,  Sister  Margaret/'  said 


Saint  Anthony  and  Our  Community.  91 


Sister  Salome.  "I  don't  know  whether 
that  tale  is  about  you  and  the  hash,  or 
Saint  Anthony  and  the  screw  "  and  she 
went  on  to  find  Mother  Annunciata  who 
would  be  sure  to  help  her  out. 

Mother  Annunciata  was  in  her  cell, 
stirring  about  busily.  "Why,  of  course. 
Sister,"  she  replied  when  asked  for  a  Saint 
Anthony  favor,  "V\l  tell  you  about  the 
pins." 

"That  sounds  interesting,"  said  Sister 
Salome.  "You  see  this  is  the  last  Saint 
Anthony  story,  the  thirteenth  of  my  prom- 
ise, and  I  want  it  to  be  entirely  about  our 
own  Community.  Don't  you  think  that 
will  be  nice.  Mother.^" 

"Indeed,  I  do,"  was  the  hearty  response, 
"and  I'll  do  my  part.  This  is  my  story. 
One  time,  when  I  had  charge  of  the  chil- 
dren I  sent  for  eighteen  school  pins  for 
different  girls  who  wanted  them.  When 
they  came,  the  sealed  parcel  was  given 
to  me  at  recreation  with  the  other  mail. 
I  opened  the  box  and  counted  them  and 
finding  eighteen,  put  the  box  in  my  pocket 
and  went  to  prayers.  They  were  very  tiny 
pins  and  I  remember  wondering  that  any 
one  should  be  willing  to  pay  the  price  they 
cost.  After  prayers  I  sat  down  at  my  table 


92  The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 

to  read  the  mail  and  I  laid  the  box  before 
me.  Then  I  went  to  bed.  The  next  day 
when  I  went  to  give  the  children  their 
pins,  I  discovered  one  was  missing.  I 
looked  everywhere  for  it  and  prayed  and 
prayed  to  Saint  Anthony.  I  was  much 
distressed,  for  I  feared  it  had  been  stolen 
and  I  hated  to  think  that.  That  evening 
at  five  o'clock  we  had  an  extra  study-hour 
and  I  presided.  I  said  my  Office  as  I  sat 
there,  and  before  I  began  I  made  a  strong 
appeal  to  Saint  Anthony  to  let  me  know 
where  the  missing  pin  could  be.  Then  I 
got  bolder  and  I  said:  ^Now,  Saint  An- 
thony, the  six  Sundays  to  Saint  Aloysius 
begin  tomorrow,  and  if  I  do  not  find  that 
pin  ril  stop  praying  to  you  and  ask  him  to 
get  it  for  me.'  When  I  had  finished  my 
Office  I  closed  the  book  and  slipped  it  into 
my  pocket.  As  I  did  so,  my  hand  struck 
something  stiff.  I  could  not  imagine  what 
it  could  be  so  I  drew  it  out  and  there  was 
the  heavy  paper  in  which  the  box  had  been 
wTapped,  with  that  little  pin  inside  it. 
Saint  Anthony  did  not  want  to  lose  his 
title  of  finder  of  lost  things  to  Saint 
Aloysius." 

"That  is  a  splendid  story.  Mother  An- 
nunciata,"  said  Sister  Salome.    "I  don't 


Saint  Anthony  and  Our  Community.  93 


think  we  can  say  Saint  Anthony  has 
sUghted  our  household,  can  we?" 

"No,  dear,  I  don't  think  we  can,"  repUed 
the  older  Nun.  "If  you  need  any  more 
you  might  ask  Sister  Cordula,"  she  added 
as  Sister  Salome  got  up  to  go. 

"That  is  where  I  am  going  now,"  was 
the  answer,  and  she  went  down  the  cor- 
ridor and  knocked  on  Sister  Cordula's 
door. 

"Come  in,"  was  Sister  Cordula's  greet- 
ing. "Come  in.  Sister  Salome,"  and  Sister 
Salome  forthwith  did. 

"Sister  Cordula,  do  you  know  anything 
about  Saint  Anthony.^"  she  asked  as  she 
sat  down  on  the  proffered  chair. 

"Saint  Anthony  is  a  fine  man  now,"  in- 
stantly replied  Sister  Cordula. 

"Why,  Sister  Cordula.?  What  did  he 
ever  do  for  you.?"  asked  Sister  Salome  in- 
sinuatingly.   "Anything  wonderful.?" 

"He  found  my  brass  key,"  was  the  an- 
swer. "One  time  when  I  had  charge  of 
the  Priest's  house,  the  Retreat  Priest 
locked  the  door  when  he  left  and  took  the 
key  with  him.  The  Bishop  was  coming 
the  next  day  and  I  couldn't  get  in  so  I  told 
Saint  Anthony  he'd  have  to  find  it  for  me 
and  I  promised  him  a  Holy  Communion. 


94 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony. 


Then  I  tried  a  key  1  had  tried  over  and 
over  again  and  it  turned  the  lock  at  once." 

Sister  Salome  was  disappointed.  She 
couldn't  put  Sister  Cordula's  brown  eyes 
and  her  quaint  little  Irish  manner  on 
paper,  and  she  knew  the  stor}^  wasn't 
ended. 

''How  did  the  key  turn  up.^"  she  ques- 
tioned. 

''Well/'  said  Sister  Cordula,  with  a  com- 
ical little  nod.  "I  went  to  Mother  Su- 
perior and  told  her  I  must  have  my  key 
back,  and  she  said  I'd  never  get  it:  the 
Priest  would  never  pxt  a  thought  to  an 
old  brass  key.  I  said:  'Saint  Anthony 
can  make  him  shake  out  his  pockets  and 
give  me  my  key  back;'  but  she  only 
laughed.  So  I  went  off  but  I  prayed  every 
day  for  I  was  determined  to  have  my  key. 
One  day  after  about  five  or  six  weeks  it 
came.  It  was  in  the  mail  and  it  was  ad- 
dressed to  Sister  Cordula.  'There,'  says  I, 
'didn't  I  say  Saint  Anthony  would  make 
him  shake  out  his  pockets.^  And  isn't  he 
a  fine  man  now^^'  "   .   .    .  . 

"How  did  you  get  along. ^"  asked  Sister 
Joachim  when  Sister  Salome  appeared 
once  more  in  the  Community. 

"\A'hy,  I'll  read  you  what  I've  written 


Saint  Anthony  and  Our  Community,  95 


just  as  soon  as  I  put  in  my  own  experience 
about  the  telegram,"  answered  Sister  Sa- 
lome sitting  down  by  the  table. 

"What  was  it?  I  don't  think  I  ever 
heard  it/'  said  Sister  Joachim. 

"Oh,  yes,  you  did,"  replied  Sister  Sa- 
lome. "Don't  you  remember  the  time  my 
nephew,  John,  was  in  Washington  on  busi- 
ness, and  I  had  to  get  a  message  to  him 
before  he  started  back.^  I  was  so  late  I 
was  afraid  to  send  it  to  his  business  ad- 
dress for  fear  he  had  left  there,  and  I  was 
almost  equally  afraid  to  entrust  it  to  the 
care  of  the  Conductor  of  the  train.  It 
seemed  so  useless  to  waste  the  money  on 
both,  so  finally  I  promised  the  price  of  one 
to  Saint  Anthony  for  his  Bread  Fund  if  he 
would  see  that  John  got  the  other.  Then 
I  telegraphed  in  care  of  the  Conductor, 
having  got  the  number  of  the  train  from 
our  office  here.  The  next  day  when  John 
arrived  I  happened  to  say  something 
about  the  telegram.  ^Do  you  know,  that 
was  the  queerest  thing .^'  he  said.  T  had 
just  settled  my  belongings  in  the  Pullman 
and  was  sauntering  into  the  smoker  when 
I  saw  a  messenger  boy  come  down  the 
platform.  He  spoke  to  the  Conductor  who 
was  standing  there  and  showed  him  a  tele- 


96 


The  Ways  of  St.  Anthony, 


gram.  The  Conductor  read  the  address 
and  shook  his  head  in  the  negative,  so  the 
boy  started  away.  The  thought  flashed 
across  my  mind  that  maybe  the  message 
was  for  me,  so  I  stepped  to  the  platform, 
called  the  boy,  and  asked  if  he  had  a  tele- 
gram for  me.  'I  have  one  for  Mr.  Brad- 
ford,' he  answered.  Well,  Fm  the  man,' 
said  I,  'and  that's  how  I  got  your  mesage.' 
Saint  Anthony  made  just  one  dollar  and 
thirty-five  cents  on  that  telegram,"  went 
on  Sister  Salome.  '^He  believes  in  saving 
the  pennies  and  letting  the  pounds  take 
care  of  themselves,  evidently." 

There  was  silence  for  a  little  while, 
broken  only  by  the  scratching  of  Sister 
Salome's  pencil.   Then  she  looked  up. 

"Do  you  know.  Sister  Joachim,"  she 
said  as  she  straightened  out  her  papers, 
''I  certainly  am  glad  I  made  this  promise 
to  Saint  Anthony.  He  has  taught  me 
many  things  I  needed  to  learn.  I  trust 
he  has  increased  the  confidence  of  others 
as  he  has  mine." 

"I've  learned  some  things  myself,"  an- 
swered Sister  Joachim.  "But  what  are 
}^ou  going  to  do  next  for  'the  dear  Francis- 
can Saint'  as  you  call  him.^" 

Sister  Salome  smiled. 


